Iwasawa's Reunion
by USAthroughout
Summary: After everyone has passed on, Otonashi later bumps into Iwasawa and later finds out she misses Girls Dead Monsters. He then promises to help find each member, but has to temporarily put aside a previous promise he made. Will they be able to find them?
1. Prologue

**Note: After working with my previous fanfic, which didn't turn out so good, I feel that I need to work on something different with this one. I just hope that it goes well as I make this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats. This is made for entertainment purpose only.**

Not long after all of the former members of the SSS have passed on, they were later found to be reincarnated back into the real world. Otonashi, however, was one of the few who weren't so thrilled about getting revived, as Kanade never really come back with him. He then figures out that Kanade holds nothing against moving on with her next life compared to the SSS and therefore instead of being reincarnated, she moves on to the next step.

This leaves Otonashi depressed for a while, but remembering his promise to his sister, Hatsune, he decides to use his second chance to finish what he started on for her sake.

He went to the library to study non-stop for long hours. Even after the library is closed, he would still take the books with him in order to continue.

However, he soon faces financial problems when he realized that he only has a year lease on his apartment and decided to delay his studies in order to find a job. Around the same time, he also realizes that the exams were five months ahead of today, which he wasn't aware of due to the time he spent in the afterlife.

The next day, Otonashi walks around town asking various storeowners if any positions were available, but without success. As he walks into a park, thinking of other possible alternatives to get money, a girl carrying a huge guitar case over her suddenly came running and accidentally crashed into Otonashi.

"Ouch, please watch where you are going next time." Otonashi is still rubbing his head after the collision.

"Sorry." Otonashi immediately recognized whom that voice belonged to.

"Iwasawa? Is that you?" Otonashi said in disbelief.

"Yes, how do you know?" Iwasawa turns around only to be surprised by a familiar face.

"Oh, you are the no memory boy, Otonashi, right?"

Otonashi grabs Iwasawa's hand and helps her up. "Yes, but my full name is Otonashi Yuzuru so please just call me Otonashi all right?"

"I see that your memory has returned. Fair enough. From now on I will call you by that name." Iwasawa said jokingly and giggled a little.

"So what have you been up to since you returned to this world?"

"I am currently studying to be a doctor for the sake of my sister, Hatsune, who died of cancer."

Otonashi becomes slightly depressed upon remembering that tragic event again.

"I am sorry to hear that Otonashi, but I am glad that you found your motivation to use your second chance wisely just like what I am trying to do."

"By the way Iwasawa, why do you seem like you are in such a rush earlier?"

Iwasawa blushed slightly. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't really in a rush, but I was told by an independent record company I was in earlier to write a new song and come back anytime so they could listen to it. I got overexcited and tried to run home to get the song started until I bumped into you."

"I see, but there is no need for you to be in a rush if the producers are giving as much time as needed for your song."

"I know and I am sorry I crashed into you without watching. Where are you heading off to now by the way?"

Otonashi sighs out of despair. "I am currently on a lease and I am trying to find a job to pay it off, but with no success so far."

"I got a job working at another restaurant as a server and I heard they are still hiring. Do you want me to take you there?"

"Yes please." Otonashi becomes hopeful. "Wait, what about your song?"

"It can wait." Iwasawa grabs Otonashi's arm and drag him along with her. "We better hurry while there is still space."

Iwasawa takes Otonashi in a small Japanese restaurant not too far from his apartment and asked one of the staff to see if positions are still available for him. A young waitress comes out of the kitchen to see whether Otonashi would be suitable to work at the restaurant.

"We do need to have a new dish washer. Would you be okay with that?"

"Of course." Otonashi replied immediately.

From this moment, Otonashi and Iwasawa began working together in that same restaurant.

A few hours later, Otonashi and Iwasawa are currently walking home together and found out that they were living in the same apartment, but in different rooms.

"Wow Otonashi, I didn't know you were living in the same apartment as me." Iwasawa becomes a little excited.

"Neither did I." Otonashi became more confused in contrast to Iwasawa.

"Well, now with my search complete, maybe I can help you write that song for your record label."

"No thanks, you don't have any experience with music so how would that help?"

"I would never know unless I try. Please give me a chance Iwasawa, I want to help you."

Iwasawa reluctantly accepted Otonashi's offer to help.

When they reached Iwasawa's apartment room, Otonashi became a little surprised on how decorated and organized it is compared to his average-looking room. As he looked around, he saw a garbage can filled with papers of Iwasawa's previous song ideas. Iwasawa immediately stops him.

"Please don't look at any of this." Iwasawa again blushed slightly.

"You have been trying to come up with new song ideas this whole time before today?"

"Yes, but I have only been able to come up with a couple, which I don't feel are good enough for my career. I have been writing songs nonstop these past few weeks in hopes that new ideas will be made, that is why I rushed immediately home when I bumped into you, but seeing that you were still new to your job, I felt that I needed to keep an eye on you."

"Thanks for your concern Iwasawa, but dish washing isn't something complicated since I had a job as a dish washer in order to take care of my sister before she died. Come on, let's work on a new song together." Otonashi immediately grabs a pencil and paper for Iwasawa.

Iwasawa smiles at him. "Thank you Otonashi."

Two hours have past, but their progress isn't so good as all of the ideas that Iwasawa and Otonashi both have always ended up in the trash.

Iwasawa lays her head on the table. "It's no good. I will never come up with a decent song even with your help."

Otonashi is also a bit frustrated with the lack of progress, but suddenly remembered something. "Iwasawa, when was the last time you ever come up with a good song?"

"Back in the afterlife with Hisako and the rest of Girls Dead Monsters. Things went downhill after I separated myself from them even though I passed on hoping that my music would make an influence."

"That must be it. Though I maybe guessing, your inability to write new songs was probably caused by the fact that you missed your friends."

Iwasawa raises her head from the table. "You really think so?"

"When you think about it, the first song you ever wrote in the afterlife was with Girls Dead Monster, right? Since then, you have never written your songs alone and have Girls Dead Monster to write beside you."

Iwasawa realizes where Otonashi was going with this conversation. "Yes, I think I might have gotten used to sharing my ideas with them that they became my sense of security, but since Girls Dead Monster have already separated so there is no way I will be able to continue on from there.

Otonashi saw Iwasawa's saddened face and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Then we are going to find them."

Iwasawa suddenly becomes surprised and immediately turns to Otonashi. "What? Are you saying that we are going to find the other members of Girls Dead Monster? We don't even know where they are!"

"And we will never know unless we try. I refuse to let you throw your life away like I nearly did with mine when Hatsune died. You said to me that your second chance must be used wisely and now I am saying this to you, because you seem to have forgotten that."

Otonashi then logs into Iwasawa's computer and lists the names of Hisako, Irie, and Sekine on both the computer and a piece of paper.

Iwasawa stood right beside him. "But what about your studies, exams, and your career? Aren't you worried about meeting your own deadlines?"

"Like your song, it can wait. There are other opportunities that I can take in order for me to become a doctor and plus I accidentally started too early." Otonashi jokingly said.

Otonashi, with a serious face, turns to Iwasawa's direction.

"As for now, let me be your manager, Iwasawa. We will reunite Girls Dead Monster together."

Although Iwasawa is shocked by his decision, her surprise was soon replaced with happiness and nods at Otonashi's request to become her manager.

**Glad it turned out better than I expected. Hopefully, I can keep it up like this in the next chapters. It would help if you leave a review letting me know whether you want this story to continue or not.**


	2. Irie Part 1

**Irie Part 1**

The next morning after his last meeting with Iwasawa, Otonashi was fast asleep in his bed exhausted, due to staying up until the early morning trying to trace the other members of Girls Dead Monsters on his computer. Otonashi then hears a knock on his door, but was too sleepy to get it.

"Otonashi, are you awake?"

Otonashi immediately recognizes Iwasawa's voice and forces himself to get up only to collapse again. Iwasawa responded by opening the door using a spare key he accidentally left in her room while trying to help her write songs.

"Have you been staying up till late Otonashi?"

Otonashi remains asleep with Iwasawa expressing a bit of disappointment by putting both of her hands on her hips. She then continuously shakes Otonashi until she gets a response.

"Come on Otonashi, if you don't get up, you will be late for work and it is only your second day working there."

Otonashi reluctantly gets up and heads to the shower to wear of his drowsiness while Iwasawa decides to make breakfast for him. When Otonashi gets out of the shower, he sees on his table two plates, each with a piece of toast covered on top by eggs and bacon.

"I got a feeling things like this would happen so I decided to make you something. You are going to need energy now that you are working." Iwasawa then makes a clever face towards Otonashi.

Otonashi responded by laughing a little. "Thank you for the food."

After they finished eating, both of them head out to the restaurant walking together and immediately went into their positions after they arrived. A couple hours later, they were later dismissed for lunch break and decided to eat in the same restaurant they are working at.

As they continue eating, Otonashi later talks to Iwasawa on how they will find them. When they were talking about Irie, the waitress who hired Otonashi overheard their conversation and decided to go closer.

"I remember seeing that girl you described about a week ago."

Both of them immediately turn to the waitress upon hearing what she just said.

"You have seen Irie last week?" Iwasawa asked.

"She was a customer here last week during her weekend break. I once held a conversation with her during my break where she told me that she came here to visit one of her relatives and that based on certain experiences, she plans to become a drummer once she finishes school."

"No surprise there." Iwasawa took a sip of her drink. "Irie is about a year younger than we are so she has to finish school, but where exactly is she attending?"

"She told me that she is currently attending a private school near the east of Osaka, but hasn't really given me the name of the school. Why do you want to know that?"

"Iwasawa is actually a pretty close friend of hers, but have been separated for a while now and we plan to reunite Iwasawa with her old friends." Otonashi answered.

"How very sweet of you helping Iwasawa with a difficult objective. You two must be really close to each other."

This causes Otonashi and Iwasawa to blush slightly at each other.

"Otonashi happens to be another friend of mine, its natural for friends to help each other." Iwasawa said shyly.

"Oh really? No matter, I wish you both the best of luck, but lunch break is over right now so we should probably get back to work." The waitress heads back to the kitchen with Otonashi and Iwasawa following.

After work, both of them decided to have another meeting with each other, but this time in Otonashi's room.

"You know Otonashi, I meant to say what an average looking room you have there when I went this morning."

Otonashi smirked. "I could care less about what my room looks like as long as it is clean and organized."

Iwasawa gave a small laugh. "I guess."

Otonashi sits on his cushion out of fatigue from work and turns to Iwasawa. "So, any room in our schedule to make a trip to Osaka?"

"I never really planned on working full time when I first started this job a few days back so the best time would probably be the weekend since I don't work on those days."

"I guess I better make room for myself as well if we are going to find the rest of Girls Dead Monster. I will go ask the manager if I can have the weekend off."

"I think that is a good idea. It's also better not to overwork yourself anyway Otonashi. Anyway, the weekend is only a couple of days away so I should start packing a little bit and so should you, but get the approval first before you yourself start packing, all right?" Iwasawa stands up and starts heading for the door.

"Fair enough, see you tomorrow Iwasawa."

"Likewise." Iwasawa then closes the door.

The next day, Otonashi asked the manager about letting him go for the weekend to help Iwasawa. He approves, but advices Otonashi to plan ahead when organizing his work schedule.

Once the weekend hits, both Iwasawa and Otonashi took a train in route to Osaka, which is about a 1-hour travel from their own neighborhood. Otonashi suddenly becomes concerned about something.

"Hey Iwasawa, once we meet with Irie, what exactly is the next step?"

Iwasawa also becomes concerned. "I don't know. I guess we rushed a bit too quickly that we didn't think about what we should do once we find her."

"We will figure all of this out eventually. Our main concern is finding her right now so once we make our stop, we'll ask for a map of Osaka and take a cab to the eastern part of the city."

"You're right, but where are we going to take the cab to anyway?"

"The waitress said that Irie currently attends a private school in that part of the city. I guess our first stop will be the closest private school to the station to see if she attends there."

"That's fine, but we also need to find a place to stay also since we are staying for the weekend."

"Oh right. I almost forgot about that." Otonashi again laughs a little.

Once both of them are out of the train station, they decided to settle in a small inn with twin beds of course before they went searching for Irie.

Otonashi decides to go out for a bit to buy lunch since they did not have a meal in the train. When he got back he saw that Iwasawa wasn't there and figures that she must have went out. He then decides to go to the bathroom to wash his face, but when he opens the bathroom door he finds Iwasawa changing her clothes.

"Ah! Sorry!" Otonashi immediately turns around and closes the door out of embarrassment while an equally embarrassed Iwasawa turns her back towards the door and holding her shirt in front of her.

Otonashi recovers and turns around facing the bathroom door with an apologetic face. "Sorry about that Iwasawa."

"It-it's okay since is my fault for not locking the door, but please knock first next time." Iwasawa still refuses to turn around out of embarrassment.

"That's fine, but how come you don't lock the door when using the bathroom?"

"I have been living alone for a while. I guess I am still not fully used to having company around me."

Otonashi snaps out of his embarrassment. "It's the same thing for me to and I still have the habit of locking the bathroom door. Maybe you should start following that habit."

"I definitely will now knowing that you are there." Iwasawa finally turns around and when she heard Otonashi's footsteps moving away she gives a warm smile towards him.

Once both of them are ready, they immediately head out on a search to find Irie. They spend hours asking officials from several private schools and storeowners to see if they recognize Irie's description. All of them did not keep track of their customers and students so they can't recognize her.

Iwasawa and Otonashi decide to take a break on a bench.

"It's no use, there are so many storeowners and private schools all over the eastern part of Osaka. It will be impossible to ask all of them with the time we are given."

"Hang on Iwasawa, don't just give up like that. Even if we don't find her today we can still look for her tomorrow." Otonashi remains optimistic.

"I wish that you could share such enthusiasm with me, but even though we still have one more day, many people in this part of town don't even know her even though she lives here. What chances are there to find her in this often overcrowded city?"

"We will figure out a way, but please try to be a little more optimistic. It's not over."

Iwasawa nodded and smiled briefly at Otonashi as he relaxes under the warm sun.

Both of them returned to the inn after another couple of hours on a fruitless search for Irie. As they are about to open their room, Otonashi suddenly spots a girl in a brown jacket with light purple hair crossing the street.

"Iwasawa, I think I might have found Irie. She is right there."

When Iwasawa took one glimpse of her, she immediately gasped. She recognizes that this girl is actually Irie.

"Irie…." Iwasawa said silently.

Irie turns around and becomes surprised to see a familiar face. Otonashi wonders what is going to happen next now that they have met once again.

**The number of arcs for each character will be uneven since Irie and Sekine's background were never revealed. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review so that I would know whether you want me to continue or not.**


	3. Irie Part 2

**Irie Part 2**

Just as when Iwasawa and Otonashi are about to get inside their room, Irie was suddenly seen crossing the street by Otonashi. Irie turns around and becomes shocked to see Iwasawa again, but not so much towards Otonashi since she barely knows him.

As soon as they let Irie into their room, she suddenly bombards both Iwasawa and Otonashi with questions.

"What are you two doing here? What happened to you guys after you came back? How did you two meet? Where do you guys live now?"

Her questions started to annoy Otonashi and attempts to calm her down.

"Slow down Irie. We will have your questions answered one by one." Once Irie has stopped asking questions, Otonashi sighs out of relief.

"Sorry about that." Irie becomes slightly embarrassed after realizing what she was doing.

Iwasawa then begins to speak. "I guess I will tell the first part of the story. Not long after I came back from the afterlife, I tried step by step to get back onto my feet such as buying a home and getting a job. I went to a recording studio after that in an attempt to start a career in music. They told me they liked my performance, but because of my limited song choices, I have to go write new songs so I rushed back to my apartment to get started and that is when I bumped to Otonashi. Speaking of which, its time to tell your part of the story."

Otonashi sits on the side of Iwasawa's bed and begins to speak. "I was studying to become the doctor I should have been before I died, but it was too late and the next exam is months away so I decided to get a job to pay up my lease for the apartment. I later went to the park and saw Iwasawa crashed into me and we both fell.

Iwasawa becomes a little embarrassed after being reminded how she and Otonashi met once more.

Otonashi continues the story. "When I told Iwasawa I needed a job, she took me to a restaurant where she was working at and found out that we both lived in the same apartment. I decided to help Iwasawa with the songwriting, but we both found out that she cannot write good songs, because she misses Girls Dead Monster so we decided to look for the other members in hopes that we could reunite the band or see them at least one more time and it lead us to you."

Irie soon felt touched by what she just heard. "Wow, you came all the way here just so you can see me? I am so happy, but sadly I am still attending school here so I am afraid that me coming back to the band is impossible."

Iwasawa, although saddened, remains supportive of Irie. "I already know. You went to our restaurant last week and made friends with the waitress. She told us everything. Have you at least seen Sekine and Hisako?"

"I haven't seen them ever since we got back to this world. I am sorry."

Irie begins to feel saddened remembering Girls Dead Monster.

"Don't worry." Otonashi suddenly spoke. "We are looking for them also. If you can't come with us, we will tell them that you said hi, all right?"

Irie nodded. "I really wish that I could go with you, but good luck finding them and please tell them I said hello, especially Sekine. I really miss her."

"We will." Iwasawa struggles to form a smile.

Irie then notices something between Iwasawa and Otonashi. "Hey, why are you two staying in the same room? Twin beds and two luggages huh? Don't tell me that you two are already this close?"

Otonashi and Iwasawa immediately blushed at Irie's accusation with Iwasawa frantically trying to come up with an excuse to explain to Irie.

"It's not like that. We just can't afford another room so this is the best that we can get."

"Is that so?" Irie remains suspicious.

"I suppose it is alright, but nothing better happen between you two, got it? Just imagine what it would have been like if Sekine and Hisako finds out about this."

"Point taken." Otonashi laughs nervously as he imagines how Hisako and Sekine would behave if they found out that him and Iwasawa are staying in the same hotel room.

"We already know what you are doing now, but what did you do after you came back Irie?" Iwasawa pointed out.

"I did the same thing you did when I first arrived, buy a home and get a job, but then I was told by my landlord that based on my age, I still have to finish one more year in school so I ended up in a school in Osaka because of the benefits I have for living alone."

"I guess that explains why you live here, but are you sure you can't find those benefits in our hometown? I really hate saying goodbye to friends." Otonashi stares at Iwasawa's guitar when he was reminded how Iwasawa left the SSS in the afterlife after playing "My Song".

" I haven't really thought about it since I didn't know where you two are living, but I guess I can look that up. However, that doesn't mean that I will go back with you two."

"Understood." Iwasawa gave Irie a paper with their location and contact information on it and watches as she leaves the door.

"It was very nice to see you two again, but I am afraid that this is goodbye. I hope I get to see you again." Irie then closes the door.

Worn out from searching for her, both Iwasawa and Otonashi climbed onto their beds to sleep after showering and changing, but not before having a last minute conversation with each other.

"Hey, Iwasawa?" Otonashi silently called out.

"Yes?"

"Sorry we weren't able to convince Irie to come back."

"It's okay. Irie has to do what she needs to do. I am happy enough that I was able to see her again."

"I hope that we can find the others the same way or better."

"I hope so too Otonashi."

"Do you also remember the time when you played "My Song" when you left us?"

"What about it?"

"It not only had an impact on me, but also the whole SSS. I was confused about what happened at first, but then I realized that you were gone for good. Seeing my friends disappear like that is the reason I did not want to say goodbye."

"I left the afterlife thinking that I will someday influence others with my music, but I never said that I wouldn't miss my friends when I did. This is the reason why we are on this journey to find and possibly reunite the other members Girls Dead Monster. I don't plan on going away for good this time so no need to worry anymore, okay?"

"Thanks Iwasawa. Anyway, we better get up early tomorrow because the last train leaves at noon. Good night."

"Good night."

Both of them immediately fell asleep.

The next day, Otonashi and Iwasawa are at the train station waiting for a train back home. Just as when they are about to past security, Irie came rushing in from out of nowhere carrying two luggages with her hands to join them.

"Irie? What are you doing here?" Iwasawa felt surprised at Irie's sudden return, as did Otonashi.

"What does it look like? I am coming with you guys back home." Irie gave a smile to both of them after catching her breath.

"What about school and the financial benefits you are getting here?" Otonashi asked.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I found out that the school in where you guys live are offering the same thing when I looked it up so I requested for a transfer and will be living in your apartment from now on as my new dormitory."

Iwasawa becomes excited. "Does that mean you will help us reunite Girls Dead Monster?"

Irie took some time to think.

"I guess, but only if you promise to help me find Sekine next." Irie winks to Iwasawa.

"As Girls Dead Monster's new manager, I accept your request." Otonashi jokingly said, but also becomes excited.

"As our new manager? Iwasawa, what is he talking about?" Irie becomes confused.

Iwasawa scratches behind her head. "Well you see, Otonashi wanted to become my manager so he could help reunite Girls Dead Monster. I hope that is alright with you."

"That's fine, but do you think you can handle such responsibility Otonashi?"

"I am trying my best right now so please have faith in me." Otonashi becomes a little annoyed with Irie's pessimistic view of him being their manager.

"Very well. Let's head to the train, I cannot wait to see what my new home looks like, especially knowing that my friends are living there."

"Then let's hurry. The next train leaves in 10 minutes." Iwasawa grabbed Otonashi's arm and drags him through security with Irie following.

The three went into the train and as they are riding, Irie and Iwasawa currently got themselves locked into a conversation about their music while Otonashi looks out the window hoping that he can keep his promise to Iwasawa.

**This chapter was fun writing. Each character arc will be a little short, but some will be longer than the others. Anyway, I hope you are looking forward to Sekine's arc, which is next.**


	4. Sekine Part 1

**Sekine Part 1**

When Irie first arrived at her new apartment, she became excited when she saw that her room is bigger than her dorm room back in Osaka. On the first night together, Irie and Iwasawa talked nonstop about their lives and music, making Otonashi feel left out and went back to his own room to get some sleep, but was happy with the accomplishment of recruiting Irie.

It has already been a few days since they returned and although Otonashi is getting used to his job and waking up a little earlier, he still often has to rely on someone to get wake him up whenever he has to work.

While Otonashi is still half-asleep in his bed, his apartment door opens, but instead of Iwasawa, it was Irie, in her school uniform, who came into his apartment this time to wake him up. She went into Otonashi's room and started to shake him gently to wake him up, but that only relaxes him rather than wake him.

"Wake up Otonashi. Iwasawa told me to come here to wake you up while she gets ready. Come on or you'll be late for work." Irie continues to shake him.

Otonashi was finally awake enough to open his eyes and was a little surprised to see Irie's face instead of Iwasawa, despite Irie already telling him that Iwasawa is still getting ready.

"Finally, you woke up sleepy-head. I thought I would be late on my first day of school just to wake you."

"How did you get into my room by the way?" This was the first though Otonashi had when he first saw Irie's face.

Irie took out a key from her pocket. "Iwasawa gave me your spare key to go in and wake you up."

"I see. All right, I better get up before Iwasawa has to come in wake me."

As Otonashi starts to get up, Irie begins to turn around and walk away, but doing so causes her to slip her footing and tripped.

"Kya!" Irie cried out as she falls.

Irie then wakes up and finds herself on top of Otonashi lying on his bed and blushed at the sight of it to the point where she could not immediately get off of him.

Iwasawa is on her way to Otonashi's room and sees that his door was still opened. She later saw what was going on in his bedroom and becomes shocked. Her surprised look later turns to anger as she saw that it was Irie on top of Otonashi, scaring her away.

"This isn't what it looks like Iwasawa, I was just…" Before Irie could finish explaining, Iwasawa forcefully interrupts her and emits a dark aura around her.

"Irie, I only told you to go and wake Otonashi. Can you explain what you were doing to him on top of his bed?"

Irie crawls back behind the wall while Otonashi looks on, also frightened by Iwasawa's intense aura.

"Ummm, yes…?" Irie fearfully answers.

"I see, so that's what happened between you two."

Iwasawa calmed herself as they were all eating breakfast in Otonashi's apartment.

"You really got to be more careful Irie. I don't want to get angry over nothing." Iwasawa takes a sip of her tea.

"I know." Irie said still frightened.

"Anyway, when do you think would be the right time to find Sekine?" Otonashi pointed out.

"We got to make some room in our work schedule first and don't forget that Irie still has school to attend to, but otherwise we could look for her this weekend."

"That is fine with me, but we don't have any leads on where Sekine might be." Otonashi turns to Irie. "Irie, Sekine is your best friend right? She didn't give you a single clue on where she might be?"

"Sadly no. When we left the afterlife, we had no idea where we would end up and we weren't prepared for it. All of us landed in different places and I haven't seen Sekine since as a result."

Iwasawa saw Irie getting slightly depressed and attempts to cheer her up. "Don't worry, we still have plenty of time to look for her so let's do it over the weekend, all right?"

"All right. Thanks for the food." Irie gets up and leaves to attend her new school.

"We also better leave Otonashi. We don't want to be late for work." Iwasawa begins collecting the dishes.

"Good call." Otonashi proceeds by helping Iwasawa with the cleaning.

At the restaurant, the waitress became astounded when Iwasawa told her that they have successfully recruited Irie for their comeback.

"Amazing, you two went to all this trouble just to find one of your friends. I had doubts about this at first, but now you have my full support."

"Thank you." Iwasawa happily responded. "Our search is not over yet, but we are getting there."

"I wish I could help, but someone has to work while you do so." The waitress was met with smiles from Otonashi and Iwasawa.

Before both were able to reach their stations, the waitress calls out to them again. "By the way, I want you both to call me Aoki, because that is my name."

"All right Aoki." Otonashi said as he heads towards the sink.

After Irie's school ended, she was asked by a couple of boys to go out with them, but refuses by telling them that this isn't the best time for her to be in a relationship. Irie became somewhat popular in her new school, something that she isn't used to due to her life in private school she attended before the new one.

Once she was able to leave the school building, she immediately headed towards the restaurant where Otonashi and Iwasawa worked.

When Irie reaches the restaurant, she became surprised that it was the same one she ate at once before when she lasted visited this city and as she heads inside, Aoki immediately recognizes and welcomes her return.

"It's good to see you again Irie." Aoki raises her hand towards Irie.

"Same here Aoki." Irie gives her a handshake. "You will probably see me a lot more often now that I am living here."

"I heard from Iwasawa and Otonashi. I hope that things go well with your search for your friends."

"Thank you. By the way, where are Iwasawa and Otonashi?" Irie begins looking around.

"They are working in the kitchen, so it is best not to bother them until their break."

As Iwasawa goes out to clean the tables, she saw Irie looking around the restaurant and happily said hi to her. Irie waved her hand towards her as a response.

"You never told me you and Otonashi were working here." Irie pouted a little.

"Sorry, I forgot that you visited this restaurant once, but this is our workplace nonetheless." Iwasawa continues to clean as she spoke to Irie.

"Before I forget, where is Otonashi?"

"He is still in the kitchen washing dishes. How was your first day in your new school?"

"It was good although it was quite troublesome when it comes to boys. Some of them wanted to ask me out and it continued all the way until after school was over."

Iwasawa laughs a little. "Looks like someone is getting a little popular."

"Anyway, I am not in the mood for relationships right now. It is still more important to me to find Sekine and Hisako."

"Agreed. Don't worry we will find them."

Otonashi heads out of the kitchen and greeted Irie before turning to Aoki.

"My shift is over, but I have already done all the dishes."

"Thank you Otonashi. Go get some rest for tomorrow."

"I will." Otonashi then turns to Iwasawa. "Your shift over Iwasawa?"

"Almost, just let me clean this last table."

Otonashi then waits for Iwasawa outside.

Back in the apartment, they all went to Iwasawa's room where Iwasawa reveals to both Irie and Otonashi that she was able to write new songs since Irie has returned, causing both of them to be excited until she reveals that the songs requires all members of Girls Dead Monster to play them. Despite this, Otonashi remains optimistic as he saw that Iwasawa is able to progress with her songwriting and hoping that reuniting all the band members can help her fully recover from her loneliness, not knowing that he is partially responsible by keeping her company.

Once the weekend hits, Otonashi was once again sleeping lazily in his bed since he has the weekend off, but Irie has other plans for him. Using Otonashi's spare key from Iwasawa's room, she went into his bedroom and begins shaking him more aggressively than before.

"Come on Otonashi, wake up. You and Iwasawa promise to help me find Sekine today."

Otonashi is still half-asleep, but awake enough to respond. "We are not in a rush to look for her Irie so please let me sleep in."

The shaking suddenly stops and Otonashi became fully awake. He then saw Irie making a cute face begging to him that he would wake up soon.

"Please wake up Otonashi. I really want to look for Sekine."

"All right. Can you at least give me some time to prepare?" Otonashi reluctantly gets up unable to resist Irie's cute begging look, but cheers up after Irie gave him a thankful smile.

After all of their morning preparations are done, all three went looking around the city to find clues on Sekine's whereabouts. However, as they past by a large shopping center, Sekine is seen on the third floor shopping for a new dress. She briefly looks out of the window and became immediately shocked upon seeing Iwasawa, Irie, and Otonashi.

"IRIE! IWASAWA!" Sekine completely forgot that she was on the third floor window and accidentally enraged some of the customers with her screaming.

She then realizes what she has done and reluctantly turns back to see the angry customers, all of their bodies surrounded by the menacing dark aura.

"Sorry…" Sekine immediately runs out of the store frightened and excited.

When Sekine finally got out of the shopping center, they were already gone, but did not see them across the street and went into the opposite direction instead while the group goes the other way.

"Come on, where are you?" Sekine complains as she continues running the wrong way looking for them.

**This was probably the most easygoing chapter I have written thus far. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review.**


	5. Sekine Part 2

**Sekine Part 2**

During Otonashi, Iwasawa, and Irie's search for Sekine, the girl was found on the third floor of a large shopping center they have just passed, unknowingly spotted themselves by her. Sekine immediately rushes out, but her slightly impulsive nature made her run in the wrong direction, separating even further away from the group.

"IRIE! IWASAWA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Sekine screamed and again attracted unwanted attention for herself without realizing it.

During her search, she suddenly found herself standing in front of the restaurant where Otonashi and Iwasawa worked.

Exhausted she took a step inside where Aoki gets her to a table and gives her a menu.

"Would you like anything to drink Miss?"

"Do you have any lemon iced tea?"

"Coming right up."

After Sekine got her drink, she was ready to order her meal and ate it pretty fast as soon as it arrived, shocking Aoki.

Aoki notices that Sekine is frantically rushing through everything and decide to have a conversation for her to find out what is wrong.

"Calm down Miss. You are disturbing the other customers."

Sekine saw the disturbed faces of other people finally realizes what she was doing and finally calms down.

"Sorry." She said out of embarrassment.

During Aoki's break time, she pours Sekine a cup of hot tea to make her feel comfortable.

Sekine is still embarrassed from the outcome of her actions and apologizes again. "Sorry for my inappropriate behavior."

"Don't worry about it. At least you are better now than you were before." Aoki sits down on an extra chair under Sekine's desk. "My name is Aoki. Why don't you tell me what is on your mind?"

Sekine was reluctant to tell her story to someone she barely knows, but does so anyway, knowing there is no one else to talk to. "I was out shopping for a new dress after a kid I was babysitting used it as a cape for his superhero game and accidentally ripped it. I briefly looked out the window and I saw some of my old friends hanging out together and I wanted to join them. They did not see me so I went out and they were gone in an instant and I have been searching for them ever since."

Aoki laughs at her story. "Don't make it sound like you have been in a lifelong journey searching for them. I am sure that it hasn't been that long since you have last seen them."

Sekine again gets embarrassed when Aoki gets to the point and struggles as she attempts to speak. "Okay, I may have exaggerated on the first part, but I really haven't seen them for a while. That is why I am currently looking for them."

"I see." Aoki gave Sekine a little smile as Sekine takes a sip of her tea. "You know, I know a couple of people just like you looking for their friends. I can see that you have doubts that I also have for them, but I was proven wrong when they were able to find one of them. If you really want to find your friends, you need to show the same dedication that they have in order to find them. You will have more of a chance finding them through proper search than just randomly running around town looking for them and if you say that you were able to spot your friends once, they might be closer than you think."

Sekine herself finally smiled back. "You are right. Maybe rather than just running around, I should put more thought to my search. Looks like I am going back to the starting point."

Sekine then heads towards the door. "Thank you."

"Glad to help Miss."

Just as when Aoki heads back to the kitchen, Sekine calls her one last time. "By the way, my name is Sekine and again thanks." She then leaves the restaurant.

Aoki suddenly remembers Iwasawa and Otonashi mentioning her name once during a conversation and immediately rushes towards Sekine, but as she heads outside, Sekine is nowhere to be seen.

As Sekine tries to reach the area where she first saw them, Iwasawa, Otonashi, and Irie were ironically found in the same shopping center where she was shopping at eating lunch at the food court.

"So far we have only a few clues that people have given us to Sekine's whereabouts." Otonashi circles the possible areas of a map of the city he took from his apartment.

"One person told us that Sekine was shopping here earlier, but she was seen running out of the mall after accidentally angering some of the customers." Iwasawa sighed and took a sip of her drink.

"That Sekine, someday her mischievous nature will really get her into trouble just like with Hisako when Sekine tries to improvise her bass playing during one of our concerts." Irie also felt slightly ashamed of Sekine's recent actions.

"Nonetheless, what we have gathered here is still progress. I believe that we will be to find her as long as we continue searching. You girls ready?" Otonashi gets up from the table and the girls nodded in response.

However, before they are about to leave, Irie spotted a couple of guys who tried to ask her out on a date a couple of times after school and out of desperation, attempts to push Iwasawa and Otonashi out of the food court to avoid an encounter with them.

"Hey Irie, you don't have to push us. We are not in a rush." Otonashi protested.

"Oh yes we are."

"Then what is wrong?"

"Nothing, I just feel that we need to get out of here."

Iwasawa was more assertive in her protest. "Irie, what is the meaning of this? Why do you want to get out so badly?"

Knowing that the two won't leave so easily without an explanation, Irie gives in to Iwasawa's demand.

"You see those guys over there. They tried to ask me out several times and they still haven't given up yet. I don't want them to find me here." Irie continues to frantically push the two.

"Sometimes popularity can also be a fault Irie." Iwasawa pointed out.

The three were successfully able to sneak out of the mall without being spotted by the guys.

After they left, they searched all the given spots where Sekine often hangs out, but since Sekine is actually looking for them as well, they were unsuccessful in locating her.

Several people they have asked claimed to have seen Sekine, but have no idea where she ran off to and only points to the direction where she ran, which leads them back to the restaurant.

"You have got to be kidding me. Sekine went all the way here?" Iwasawa becomes concerned that all this search might be nothing more than a wild-goose chase since all of the directions that were taken have led them back to the starting point.

Just as when Otonashi was about to call it a day, Aoki saw the group and immediately rushed outside.

"Everyone, Sekine was in here earlier looking for you three."

The news captured everyone's attention.

"Can you explain the whole thing?" Otonashi asked.

"Of course. Take a seat inside and I will tell you everything."

Luckily it was closing time so they had no trouble with anyone hearing them. As soon as they are seated, Aoki starts telling them about her meeting with Sekine.

"Sekine went inside here looking very exhausted and in a rush so I asked what kind of drink and food she wanted. After eating her meal, she immediately asked for the bill and was panicking out of control to the point where she was disturbing the other costumers so I calmed her down with a cup of hot tea. I had her explain why she was acting like that and she told me that she got overexcited searching for her friends, but I had no idea she was searching for you three that time so I continued asking her about the situation. I told her about how both Otonashi and Iwasawa started their search for their friends, but never told her who you actually were and encouraged her to be more organized in her search. She took the advice quite well and began to leave after thanking me. Just as when I was about to go back to work, she told me her name and I immediately rushed out to tell her that you three were looking for her, but as soon as I went outside, she was gone."

"So Sekine was looking for us as well. That must be the reason why we couldn't find her." Irie became excited due to the fact that Sekine is not far from them.

Iwasawa realizes that they are closer to getting the answer they want and ask Aoki what else she found out during her conversation with Sekine.

"Did anything else happen? Did Sekine tell you anything else?"

"She told me that she spotted you three from a shopping center. That was when she started to search for you frantically."

Otonashi immediately hits his head with the palm of his head upon realizing what Aoki was talking about. "Please don't tell me that we are going around in complete circles. We were just in that mall a couple hours ago."

"I see. This means that while you were attempting to search for Sekine, Sekine was searching for you, but all of the directions that were given and taken have led you and Sekine around and around without meeting each other. As long as you know she is close, maybe it is best to start your search in another way tomorrow. Besides, you three look very exhausted."

"All right." Otonashi agreed. " We probably won't be able to look far exhausting ourselves like this so we better rest up and continue our search tomorrow.

"Okay." Irie said being slightly disappointed that they were this close, but had to stop.

"Don't worry, I will tell Sekine about you three if she ever comes again. Good night." Aoki turns off the lights and locks the restaurant.

As soon as they reach to their apartment building, Irie was the first to take a look in the front and spotted Sekine standing in front.

"Sekine? But how did you find us?" What Irie said caught the attention of Otonashi and Iwasawa and were just as surprised as Irie when they saw Sekine standing in front of the apartment entrance.

"I followed all the clues and directions that were given to me and it lead me here. Its finally good to see all of you once again." Sekine becomes teary-eyed at the sight of them.

Irie also started to cry out of happiness of reuniting with her best friend and immediately rushes to her.

"SEKINE!" Irie screamed out of excitement.

Soon the two friends found themselves in a tearful embrace with Otonashi and Iwasawa smiling as they watched.

**It might be a bit cheesy, but I feel that it was the best I can do. The Sekine arc is not over yet so please don't immediately look forward to the Hisako route, but I will get there soon. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review.**


	6. Sekine Part 3

**Sekine Part 3**

After a full day of searching for each other, Sekine finally reunites with the group and Irie was the first to react by tearfully rushing to her best friend and giving each other a warm embrace. Luckily the night is still young so the four met in Iwasawa's room to talk to hold conversations.

"Geez Sekine, do you know how much trouble you caused looking for us?" Irie pointed out.

Sekine scratches behind her head out of embarrassment and laughed nervously in response.

"But it is good to see you again nonetheless." Iwasawa said smiling.

"By the way, what is Otonashi doing here anyway?" Sekine took a curious look at Otonashi, making him feel slightly uncomfortable with the way she stares at him.

"You might not believe this, but Otonashi became Iwasawa's manager. He is the reason why we are all here." Irie explained.

"Excuse me? Otonashi, can you please explain to me what is going on? When have you become involved with Iwasawa?"

"Well, Iwasawa and I met in the park one time after accidentally bumping into me and found out that we live in the same apartment. You know the restaurant you were in earlier? That is where Iwasawa and me currently work at the moment. That is also the time we became friends."

"So that is the reason why you are with us, but can you explain why you became her manager?"

"I am getting there. On our way home from work, Iwasawa told me that she was writing new songs for a record label, but found herself unable to so I decided to help. It was there that I found out that Iwasawa misses her friends so we set off to find each one of you and found Irie before finding you."

Sekine was reluctant to believe his story. "Irie, is this true?"

"Yes, its true. The reason that I am here was because of them. I would rather be closer to my friends anyway and knowing that you are here now encourages me to stay. Besides, life here is actually much easier for me than when I was attending private school back in Osaka where it is always strict."

"I see. Sorry about me being suspicious about you Otonashi, but I barely know you."

"That's okay." Otonashi did not see what Sekine needed to apologize for since he barely knew her as well.

"Anyway, can you tell us where you are or give us your contact information in order to keep in touch?"

"Of course." Sekine took out some scrap paper and a pen found near Iwasawa's desk and wrote down her address, her cell phone number, and her email address and handed over to Otonashi.

"Remember, since you are Iwasawa's manager you have to make sure that she and Irie get off at the right track. I want to be kept updated so I am giving you my contact information."

Otonashi became a little surprised that Sekine was able to trust him so quickly, but accepted the paper.

"Have you been practicing your bass playing Sekine?" Music finally entered into Iwasawa's mind.

Sekine withdrew her smile. "No, I have not. If all of you are planning to reunite Girls Dead Monster together, I don't think that I will be joining you."

"What?" Everybody said in shock.

"In the beginning, I was never that good at playing the bass in the first place when I joined Girls Demo so Hisako had to guide me during practice performances. There were times that I thought about quitting, but actually being able to fit in the band was enough of a reason to stay. Hearing that you three are trying to reunite Girls Demo was indeed good news to hear. As much as I wanted to join, I think Girls Dead Monster deserves a better."

"We don't want to replace you, you were one of the original members of the band." Iwasawa protested.

"I know, but with Hisako gone I don't feel comfortable playing my bass without her."

Otonashi became a little irritated. "We have yet to find her. We have already found both you and Irie and Hisako will be next, I promise you."

"What if she doesn't want to go back? I am sure she would be happy to be with us, but things change. Do you think that we would always remain the same?"

"But you already have experience playing the bass. All you need is personal practice right?" Irie continues to beg for Sekine to stay.

This time Sekine protested. "Its not just whether you are good enough or not. This is the living world, not the afterlife. We have a future to think about."

"This isn't you Sekine." Iwasawa becomes saddened by Sekine's decision.

"Honestly, I don't know who I am yet or who I chose to be in this world. Whether I want to have my old self back or let the new one take over. That is also the reason I don't want to go back so quickly."

"But all you are doing is throwing everything away that means so much to the band. Without you there is no Girls Dead Monster."

Sekine becomes shocked at Otonashi's statement, as did Iwasawa and Irie.

"Wow, I never imagine that you would be the one that gave me something to think about. I can't guarantee that I will come back, but then again I can't guarantee that I won't. I need to have things sorted out. What I can promise is that I will always remain your friend and keep in touch. It was nice to see you all again and thanks for everything." Sekine gets up and prepares to leave the room.

"You also have to remember that everybody has their own life to live. Just because things don't go your way doesn't mean you have to force it." Sekine finally left the room.

"Sekine…" Irie tries to go after hear, but Otonashi stopped her.

"She is right Irie, we can't control her life. Just let her do as she wants, we will find a way to make this work."

Irie and Iwasawa become slightly depressed, but accepts Sekine's decision after hearing Otonashi's words.

Otonashi also became upset that he might not be able to keep his promise to reunite Girls Dead Monster and heads back to his room, as did Irie.

Iwasawa, however, saw Otonashi's saddened face and follows him to his room. She then saw Otonashi sitting in his bed deep in thought and sits right next to him in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Our journey wasn't a total loss you know. It was because of you that we were able to find Irie and get her to come back and more recently we were able to see Sekine again."

"But the promise I made to you to help Girls Dead Monster reunite. What about the promise?"

"I wasn't realistic during that time, always thinking that everybody would want to stay the same. Sekine definitely proved me wrong, but at least we are still friends. That alone is enough." Iwasawa gave a smile to Otonashi.

Otonashi became confused at what Iwasawa just said and raises his head towards her. "Wouldn't are efforts be gone to waste still?"

"Even if we won't be able to reunite Girls Demo with its original members, it doesn't mean that we won't be able to see them again, Sekine promised that she would keep in touch so are efforts weren't fully wasted."

"What do you think is going to happen next?"

"I don't know, but that is the fun part about it. We can always hope that in the future something good will happen. You were the one who taught me that when I was in doubt now let me be the one to teach you. Like you said earlier Otonashi, we will make this work somehow."

Iwasawa grabs Otonashi's head and kisses his forehead, causing him to blush slightly.

"Thank you for everything that you have done for me. Consider this as a little repayment."

Iwasawa prepares to leave, but not before turning back to Otonashi one more time. "Irie didn't even say no yet thanks to you. Even if she did I can accept that. Good night." Iwasawa closes the door.

"Good night." Otonashi's spirit rose up a little after Iwasawa expresses her appreciation for his efforts.

Despite Sekine's initial refusal, Otonashi has not given up on Girls Demo and begins to think about how he would be able to reunite Hisako with them again.

In Sekine's apartment, she sits on her bed in her apartment room thinking about her last conversation with the group and stares at her bass. She then recalls Irie saying that all she would need is personal practice and realizes that she has been too dependent on Hisako during practice.

"If I am ever going to be good, I can't always rely on others to help me. I have to become independent." Sekine spoke to herself.

She then picks up her bass and begins plucking on the strings.

"Irie said all I need is some personal practice right? Looks like that is what I am going to do."

As she plays, she soon started to remember what made the band so special to her. Sekine promises to never throw away that memory as she continues to practice throughout the night.

On Monday, Iwasawa and Otonashi just finish their shift in the restaurant and Irie was hanging out with them since school ended a couple of hours ago.

They all decided to meet in Iwasawa's room to discuss the future of being in the music business, but as soon as Iwasawa opens her door, a loud sound hits the group sending them back against the wall.

When they were able to see what is in front of them, it was none other than Sekine happily playing her bass with a couple of big amps behind her.

"Ha ha ha! Got you!" Sekine continues to laugh very hard.

"Sekine? How did you get into my room?" Iwasawa is still recovering from the loud sound coming from those amps.

"Your landlord let me in after explaining that I was friends with you so I decided to do a little prank on you three."

"You call this a little prank? YOU ALMOST BLEW OUR EARS OFF!" Otonashi complained as he rubs his ears.

Irie recovered, but struggles to talk to Sekine. "What are you doing here by the way?"

"I have been thinking about what Otonashi said and I realized how important Girls Dead Monster is to me as I remember more about what we went through. I practiced for a couple of nights since then and made my decision to come back to the band."

Irie was the first to become excited. "Does that mean you won't be leaving?"

"Not anymore Irie, I missed you all so I plan to stay."

Everyone became happy and celebrated with dinner Otonashi and Iwasawa made in the restaurant.

"Only two nights and you improved your bass playing by this much? Good job Sekine." Otonashi pointed out.

"Thanks, it was because of you I learned to be more independent and practiced on my own. Now all we have left is to find Hisako. If Otonashi and Iwasawa were able to find us, we can definitely find her."

Sekine looks at Otonashi again and smiles. "Otonashi, I think you will make a great manager for Girls Demo."

Otonashi smiles back. "Thank you and I will continue to do my best for you girls."

"Only my best friend is left. Does everyone want her to come back?" Iwasawa asked.

"YEAH!" The group yelled in agreement.

**Sekine's arc has been conquered. The next is Hisako. What will happen next? Look forward to it.**


	7. Hisako Part 1

**Hisako Part 1**

Hisako is seen in her tour bus watching the news with Yui talking to Hinata about how the tour is going. Not long after reincarnating from the afterlife, Hisako and Yui were easily able to find each other where they chose to remain close despite Hisako's impatience with Yui. During the time they spend together, Hinata was found in a music store buying a Gibson SG Special, apparently a gift for Yui. Just as Hinata got out of the store, he suddenly saw Yui and Hisako from across and calls out to Yui.

"Hey Yui!" Hinata called.

"Senpai?" Yui immediately responded and rushed towards him.

"Senpai, it is you. I am so glad that I am able to see you again." Yui continues to embrace Hinata as Hisako happily watches.

Yui took notice of the guitar he was holding. "Senpai, what is with the guitar?"

"It is actually a gift I bought in case I see you again and please call me Hinata this time."

"Really? Thank you Hinata!" Yui immediately grabbed the guitar and becomes excited.

Hinata suddenly hears his phone ringing. "Hello?"

"Hey Hinata, this is your coach speaking, I just want you to know that your team was very impressed with your performance at the local baseball tournament a couple of days ago and they want to keep you in the team."

"What? Really?" Hinata becomes excited.

"Yes Hinata. Come by the stadium so we can discuss your contract. Congratulations and welcome to the team." The call ends.

Yui becomes confused as Hinata becomes more and more excited. "Hey Hinata, what is going on?"

"My team accepted me to be a part of them. I have to go to the stadium tomorrow to discuss my contract."

Yui becomes concerned. "But what about the promise we made in the afterlife?"

"Don't worry, I still haven't forgotten it. I promise that I will always keep in contact with you alright, but we all have a future to think about."

"You are right. Anyway, thanks for the gift." Yui and Hisako prepare to leave.

"All right, see you later." Hinata also leaves.

Hisako turns to Yui as they walk. "You know he is right. We also got to think about what we are going to do next."

"Yeah, but since you and I are together, do you want to form a new band, you know to remember our friends that have moved on?"

"It's been a while since I have played my guitar in a band, but I would like to remember why I started playing in the afterlife. If we are going to form a new band, I do know a couple of people who are good at the drums and the bass."

"All right. Our first song is going to be with them."

Luckily, the new band was able to write their first song within a couple of hours due to Hisako's association with the new band members; the drummer Reika and bass player Shimizu. Rather than naming the band Girls Dead Monster, they decided to rename the band Alive and Well in order to distance themselves from the name made in the afterlife out of respect for the original members.

After writing a couple more songs, a demo was sent to a record label and they themselves were offered a contract a few days later, which got Yui to tell Hinata about it, but still promises that they would always remain in contact regardless of location.

The first tour would be all across the Kansai region of Japan, not knowing that the other original members of Girls Demo live there currently.

Back in the tour bus moving towards that region, Hinata and Yui are using their last contact of the day to remind each other to say hello to any of the former SSS members they encounter and promises to meet after the tour.

"So what did you tell each other?" Hisako asked.

"We promised to each other that if we see the other members of the SSS we would promise to say hello for each other and to meet after the tour."

"Even from a distance, you two are able to remain close. Wish I could do that with my other friends from there."

"Maybe we can once we encounter them. After all, we already encounter each other and Hinata, I am sure we can do the same with the others."

"You've become a lot different since leaving the afterlife Yui." Hisako remarked.

"Of course, because now I am able to do the things I have always wanted when I was alive previously, but could not."

"I see. I am more glad that we all got more chances to fulfill them."

After being on the road for more than 6 hours, they finally stopped at the nearest city where they are scheduled to perform the opening act for Sad Machine. Since nobody knows who their band is, they were safe to walk around the city before returning to the hotel to rehearse.

In the other side of the city, Otonashi and Iwasawa are working in the restaurant when Aoki manages to score five tickets to the Sad Machine concert for Sekine and Irie to go also. Iwasawa is the most excited of them since Sad Machine is her favorite band.

After school Irie immediately head to the restaurant to hang out with Otonashi and Iwasawa despite the business hours of the restaurant, while Irie is currently watching over children in a park nearby her apartment and the children's daycare center.

During break time, Iwasawa suggest to Irie to invite Sekine to the concert as Otonashi and Aoki already plan to go with them, which Irie accepted.

After Sekine, Otonashi, and Iwasawa are done with their jobs, they meet at Iwasawa's apartment room to discuss more about the concert.

"I can't believe Sad Machine is going to play here tomorrow! I am so excited!"

Otonashi laughs at Iwasawa's reaction, as he never saw her behave like this before, causing her to blush.

"I hope they play their title song "Requiem for Innocence" tomorrow, that song was my favorite from Sad Machine." Sekine also became excited, but not to Iwasawa's level.

Irie took a look at the promotional poster of the concert and spotted a section filled with opening acts. "There are also some opening acts coming before the main event, anybody recognize them?"

Iwasawa took a look at the poster.

"I recognized most of them except for the band named "Alive and Well." Any of you heard of this band?"

"None of us have heard about this band, but we will see how good they are once we arrive to hear." Sekine answered.

"I wish Hisako was here with us to join." Iwasawa said.

"But even if Hisako is here, we only have five tickets, which would force one of us out of the concert." Otonashi pointed out.

Irie attempts to cheer Iwasawa up, even though she is not really upset. "Besides, I am sure wherever Hisako is, she probably would have already reserved tickets to see it anyway."

"You are probably right. Anyway, we better get some sleep tomorrow since the concert is at noon and I don't plan to get squished by the crowd."

Otonashi was the last to leave, but before he could do so, Iwasawa calls out to him.

"Hey." Otonashi turns around.

Iwasawa is still blushing from when she kissed him the other day.

"Again, thanks for everything Otonashi."

Otonashi remembers the kiss as well and blushes slightly, but smiled at Iwasawa.

"You're welcome." Otonashi closes the door.

The next day, the concert arena becomes packed with people waiting outside to get in. Luckily, the group woke up early enough and was spared from waiting too long in line.

"Any of you heard Sad Machine's music behavior?" Aoki asked.

"I have only heard a couple of songs from them, but I haven't listen to the complete set yet and that is probably why I am here." Otonashi answered.

"I am sure you will enjoy it." Iwasawa gave a confident look towards Otonashi, making him feel awkward.

Sekine and Irie are also feeling excited as well, but Sekine starts to react impulsively.

"I can't wait until I start rocking out, HURRAY!" Sekine screamed.

Irie tries to calm her down. "I am excited too, but please don't do this in the line."

"Sorry."

By the time they reached inside to get their assigned seats, only about a quarter of the seats have been taken since they were one of the earliest. By the time it was full, the number of people has already reached up to 5,000.

The crowd loudly screams as the lights go out, annoying Otonashi since it was his first attended concert, but everyone else, including Iwasawa, screamed as well.

As the first couple of opening acts are playing, Hisako, Yui, Reika, and Shimizu prepare for their part, but Yui suddenly becomes anxious, which Hisako took notice of.

"Yui, what's wrong?"

"I have never played in front of a crowd this big before and even thinking about it makes me nervous. What should I do?"

"Yui, you have played in front of people many times before and you have never gotten nervous. Just because there are more people now doesn't mean you have to throw away that feeling."

"You're right. I have to show the same feeling here as I have in the afterlife." Yui immediately picks up the guitar. "I am ready."

"Just pretend like you are still performing in the afterlife and those same feelings will shine." Hisako left to the stage.

"Thank you Hisako senpai."

"Just call me Hisako by the way."

Yui smiled knowing that Hisaka thinks of her as a true friend and heads off to the stage.

Once Alive and Well are on the stage, the whole group besides Aoki is in shock to see Hisako and Yui performing on stage. As they perform their song, Otonashi, along with Irie and Sekine, turns to Iwasawa, who is still in disbelief, but later turns towards them. Although a little upset, she was able to give them a smile, wanting to let them know that everything is okay.

While Hisako performs her guitar solo during the song, she opens her eyes to take a look in the audience and was surprised to see Otonashi and all of the other original members of Girls Dead Monster in the audience. Although they were cheering her on, Hisako became reluctant to play, but does so anyway since the rest are doing it. Yui, however, was unaware with the group's presence.

Once Alive and Well left the stage, it didn't take long for the group to cheer up as Sad Machine is finally ready to perform.

After receiving compliments from their manager, Hisako turns to Yui as Reika and Shimizu were getting refreshments.

"Yui, did you see anyone on stage that looked familiar to you?"

"No, I was too busy having fun. What? Did you see someone you know in the audience?"

"Iwasawa, Sekine, Irie, and Otonashi were there, watching us."

Yui became surprised. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We were on stage performing, I wasn't able to tell you."

"So does that mean they live in this city?"

"Most likely. Our tour bus leaves tomorrow so we have to see them tonight."

"Then we will have to wait for them outside of the arena once the concert is over."

Shimizu approached them. "You girls want to explore the city with us before we leave?"

"You and Reika get a head start. Me and Yui have to meet somebody before we go."

"All right." Shimizu heads back to Reika.

Once the concert was over, the group had satisfied looks on their faces, seemingly forgotten the fact that Hisako and Yui performed on stage earlier.

"I told you that you would enjoy it Otonashi." Iwasawa remarked.

"Okay I will admit that it was pretty fun."

Aoki laughed at Otonashi. "It was pretty fun wasn't it?"

"The best." Both Sekine and Irie said together.

Their smiles were cut short when they saw Hisako and Yui standing right in front of them.

Yui came in front of them excited. "Its been a while since I last saw all of you, though I didn't expect senpai or another girl I don't know to be with you."

**Great! Finished another chapter in a short time. Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter by leaving a quick review.**


	8. Hisako Part 2

**Hisako Part 2**

After the Sad Machine concert, Otonashi, Iwasawa, Sekine, Irie, and Aoki all left the arena with smiling faces, but when they come face to face with Hisako and Yui, their smiles dissipate, making everyone feel awkward.

Yui is the only one excited in the group to reunite with the other former members of Girls Dead Monster, but the rest were still in awkward silence due to the concert.

Iwasawa was the first to step up and talks to Hisako. "We saw you and your new band playing in the concert. We all thought you did pretty good and cheered you on."

Hisako can see Iwasawa feeling a little depressed. "Iwasawa, if I had known then I would have…" Hisako was unable to finish her sentence.

"Its okay, right now me and the rest of Girls Demo are working on something, but we were hoping to wait until we find you and we did, but it looks like you are doing well for yourself. It looks like now we have something else to look forward to."

"Wait Iwasawa, we didn't mean to rub it in your face. None of us knew that the rest of Girls Demo lived here. We just got so focused on having a future since we figure that everyone else has moved on as well." Hisako frantically explains to Iwasawa.

Aoki becomes confused. "Hey Otonashi, what exactly is going on between those two?"

"Hisako is actually Iwasawa's best friend and former lead guitarist of her band. We were hoping to bring her back to the band, but now knowing that she is doing fine on her own, we don't know what is going to happen to the band."

"Well you can't blame her for wanting to move on."

"I know that, that is why we've been cheering and supporting both her and Yui during their performance, but the question is how are going to move on now?"

"That is only something that only you and your friends can decide. I am sorry that I am no longer to able to help as much as I did before."

"No, you've been a lot of help Aoki. Without you, we wouldn't have seen Sekine and Irie again and become as close as we are. I made a promise to the band a while ago that I would become a fan if they started playing again. Instead, I became their manager and I would promise that things would go the way they should. I can still keep my promise, but we will have to find another way to work things out."

Yui turns her attention to Otonashi. "Hey senpai, what are you doing with the former members of Girls Dead Monster and who is the girl you are talking to?"

"Her name is Aoki. She was the one who employed Iwasawa and me when we were looking for a job, but we recently became friends with her. She is also the one who helped us find Sekine and Irie."

Yui nodded. "I see, but what about you getting involved with Girls Demo? You still haven't answered that."

"It all started when I was helping Iwasawa with songwriting. After we weren't able to come up with something decent, we figured that she needed her friends to help her so we decided to reunite Girls Dead Monster to help Iwasawa and to allow them to get a start in the career as promised. I knew that Iwasawa would need my help so I got appointed as the manager of Girls Dead Monster."

"EH? You became the manager of Girls Dead Monster? That is so cool senpai!"

"It would have been even better if we had Hisako though, but it looks like we will have to replace her."

Yui becomes unhappy upon realizing that Girls Demo would never be fully reunited since Hisako works for her band now.

"Sorry senpai, we didn't know. If I had known that Girls Dead Monster would be reunited, me and Hisako would have waited until we find all of you."

Otonashi pats Yui on the head. "Well, things happen Yui and you can't do anything about it once it does. We will find away to work this out as long as you and Hisako can afford to remain close to us."

"That I want to do at least, because all of you are my friends and yes, that includes you too Aoki for helping them."

Aoki smiles at Yui in response.

Oh, everyone!" Hisako calls out. "Hinata called Yui earlier and he asked her to say hello for him to any former members of the SSS."

"Then tell him that we all said hi to." Otonashi responded.

"Me and Iwasawa were talking about Girls Dead Monster and the music business and concluded that although a full reunion of Girls Dead Monster maybe unlikely, it is still possible. Come on, I got a camera and I want all of us to be in it."

Everybody gathers into a group as Hisako sets the camera. Once the camera is ready, Hisako rushes to the group and the camera flashes, showing all the smiling faces.

"Yui, make sure to give that photo to Hinata as prove."

"You got it senpai."

"Please stop calling me senpai alright. We no longer go to school together so call me Otonashi."

"Okay Otonashi." Yui laughs happily as Otonashi pats her head again.

"Anyway, before me and Yui leave to the other members of our band, would you guys like to have dinner with all of us?"

"Sure, we can have dinner at the restaurant where me and Otonashi work."

Hisako laughs. "Wow, I never imagined that you two would work in the same place, let alone a restaurant."

This causes both Iwasawa and Otonashi to be embarrassed, but eventually laughs with everyone else.

Inside the restaurant soon became a party as everyone celebrates a toast for being reunited as friends.

"To Girls Dead Monster and Alive and Well." Everybody said as they lowered their glasses and take a sip.

Although Iwasawa was having a relatively good time, she notices Otonashi's less enthusiastic behavior and becomes concerned.

After both bands are separated, Otonashi and the rest of Girls Demo meet at Iwasawa's room again to discuss a possible replacement for Hisako. They all agreed to hold local auditions in a few days in an abandoned warehouse that was rented to them for the day of the auditions to see who gets Hisako's former position.

By the time they have to say goodbye, Sekine was the first to go since she doesn't live in the same apartment as the rest, excluding Iwasawa, heads back to their own rooms.

After Otonashi changes to his sleeping attire, he sat down on his bed in deep thought as he feels that a part of Girls Dead Monster would be missing without Hisako, but tries to remain strong with Hisako's decision to stay with Yui's band.

He then hears his apartment door being unlocked and in came Iwasawa wearing her sleeping attire.

She sits next to him and attempts to hold a conversation to cheer him up.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?"

"No, I was thinking about how empty Girls Dead Monster will be without Hisako."

"I am sure Hisako is thinking the same about us Otonashi. We were the ones who founded Girls Dead Monster after all."

"I hate that we have to replace Hisako, but as your manager I have to learn to accept that."

"It is hard for the both of us, that is why I didn't want to leave you alone today or let myself be alone for that matter. Ever since you promised to help me, you were the one who had always given me hope when I feel like giving up. Now its my turn to help you so please let me in."

Otonashi tries to cover the emptiness he is feeling, but to no avail as he continues falling into depression. Losing Hisako reminded him of the afterlife where all of his friends disappear, causing him emotional stress. Iwasawa grabs Otonashi and begins to embrace him and he eventually does the same.

"Please don't let yourself fall. You are practically the most important person to me right now and I don't want to lose you." Tears begin falling from Iwasawa's eyes.

"Iwasawa…" Otonashi had no idea what to do, but to continue embracing her.

Iwasawa started to lift up her head and moves closer to Otonashi resulting in an emotional kiss.

"I love you." Iwasawa finally reveals her true feelings and left the room afterwards.

The next morning, Otonashi is still half-asleep, but is shaken by Iwasawa, who already made breakfast after she entered his room.

"Come on Yuzuru, you have to get up. Today is the day we get people to sign up to audition, you can't just sleep through the day without helping."

Otonashi struggles to get up, but is still too tired from last night.

"Looks like I have no choice then." Iwasawa leans towards Otonashi and kisses him on his forehead, forcing Otonashi to instinctively get up.

"Iwasawa? Wait, when did you start calling me by my first name and where is Irie and Sekine?"

"They already left to help set up and I thought we were close enough to call each other by our first names."

"I guess, but I am still not used to it."

"You will have to learn somehow, so please call me Masami from now on, okay?"

"Fine with me Masami." Both smiled at each other before eating their breakfast.

Later in the day, the group, with the help of Aoki, started having sign ups for female guitarists interested in joining Girls Dead Monster. To advertise, they put out flyers at certain stores and electric poles with permission, which promises small gigs before signing up to the record label, which Iwasawa auditioned for before she met Otonashi. Although more than 90 were interested in the flyers they passed out, only about 24 signed up for the audition, about nearly half of what they have expected.

They decided to hold the auditions a week after the sign ups to get the needed equipment and move them into the warehouse and to keep up with work and school.

On the day of the auditions, Otonashi and Aoki helps set up the stage with equipment, such as microphones, amps, and a guitar, which is Iwasawa's spare guitar, while the members of Girls Dead Monster acts as the judges since they are the ones who decide who is the best among them all for the band.

The first person to perform is revealed to be a punk rock fan bringing her guitar to audition with rather than using Iwasawa's. She manages to impress everyone with her guitar playing, but got overexcited and comically injures herself when she attempted to do a split, but accidentally fell into the wrong position and twisted her ankle. Everyone struggled not to laugh.

The second guitarist wasn't much better. Although she looks like an innocent schoolgirl, her guitar playing reveals her to be a death metal fan, which is not what the band was looking for.

Many other disastrous audition acts soon follow not because of bad guitar playing since there were very few who played badly, but due to different styles of music that they show along with their attitude towards the band, music, and style, which sometimes lead to accidental injury or destruction.

The last act for the auditions was shown to have the worst attitude of them all. After her guitar playing won the judges, just like some of the other previous participants, she starts behaving more like a very wild rocker and slams Iwasawa's spare guitar, which caused her to return to her senses, but it was too late.

Iwasawa has had enough. "All right, no more auditions. I don't want anything else to break or see anyone get injured."

Sekine protested. "But what about getting a new guitarist?"

"None of the participants here can play our style or behave properly. We are a rock band, not a destructive heavy metal band."

Otonashi took a look at one of the flyers and realizes what was wrong. "You didn't mention any of this in the flyers that's why."

Iwasawa immediately took a look at one of the flyers and hits her head upon realizing her mistake.

"Nonetheless, we still need a new guitarist." Irie pointed out.

"Looks like I will have to take that place. Girls Dead Monster is now a trio!"

"WHAT?" Everybody yelled at Iwasawa.

**I am going to leave it at this point so look forward for the next chapter.**


	9. Hisako Part 3

**Hisako Part 3**

Hisako and Yui were preparing to leave with Reika and Shimizu to attend their next scheduled performance in Osaka. Yui, however, notices Hisako's conflicted look.

"You still can't stop thinking about Girls Demo, huh?" Yui puts her hand on Hisako's shoulder.

"I can't help, but have this feeling that I betrayed them, even though I didn't want to."

"You can't blame yourself for this. Nobody would have ever known where anyone would go and end up once they pass on. I miss Girls Dead Monster to, they were my main inspiration when we form the band we have now."

Reika and Shimizu are also feeling concerned for Hisako after she and Yui told them what happened as they explored the city.

"Seeing them again makes me really want to go back, but I can't leave you girls like that, you three are also my friends."

Reika and Shimizu stare at each other briefly and both nodded in some sort of agreement.

Reika approaches Hisako. "You know, some artist can actually work with two bands if they want to, but that is only if they can handle the stress."

Hisako immediately stands up with a surprised look on her face. "Wait, musicians can do that?"

"Correct." Shimizu responded. "Yeah, I was once at this Sad Machine concert and the lead singer reveals that he formed a new band while still working with his original. He manages to successfully divide time needed for both bands, including recording time. A lot of bands do this, maybe you should to if you miss your friends this much."

Hisako gave herself time to think, as she feels unsure about the stress that will follow working with two bands.

"Hmm, I guess that could work. Alright, I will do it, but first we got to finish this tour." Hisako grabs her luggage and headed to the tour bus parked outside the hotel they were staying at.

Yui suddenly became concerned herself. "Wait, what would our manager think of Hisako working with two bands."

Reika smiles. "Don't worry, this isn't the first time that he works with a band whose members form their own. He worked with quite a few bands, but most of them broke up or decided to take a hiatus for personal reasons before coming to us. We just need to tell him and I am sure he will be interested in working with them if he is impressed by how they play. I just hope that he can work out with Girls Dead Monster's manager."

"I know Otonashi, so I am sure he can." Yui immediately heads for the bus excited as Reika and Shimizu follow.

Back in the tour bus, Hisako stares at the window looking up in the morning sky.

"Don't worry Iwasawa, I will be back with you soon." She then turns to the rest of the band.

"So what do you girls want to do once we reach Osaka?"

The girls immediately made a list on what they want to do during their free time there with Yui smiling at Hisako.

Meanwhile in Iwasawa's apartment, the rest of Girls Dead Monster are currently working on the rhythms of their previous songs to match the style of their new line up with Iwasawa now being the only guitarist.

They played Crow Song in a slightly different arrangement and were impressed by how it worked out.

"So Yuzuru, what do you think?" Iwasawa asked Otonashi, who was monitoring the band's attempt to change their style.

"Very good, although it isn't better than the original version, it hums along quite nicely."

"Thanks, I wanted to at least make sure that the new style would be just as good as the original if not better." Iwasawa takes off her guitar.

Irie and Hisako, however, are in a state of shock. Iwasawa turns around and notice this.

"Is there something wrong? You two seemed surprised about something."

Sekine attempts to speak as she stutters. "You, you called Otonashi by his first name."

Otonashi and Iwasawa got completely embarrassed as they forgot to tell Irie and Sekine about their new relationship with each other.

"Does that mean you two are together?" Irie continues to stutter as she speaks.

"Yes, both me and Yuzuru are currently together. Sorry we forgot to tell you."

"I can't believe it. Does that mean you two have kissed also?"

"Sekine!" Iwasawa's face has turned even redder along with Otonashi's, knowing that Sekine was straight on with her question.

"On to other business then." Iwasawa changes the subject. "I feel bad about doing this, but if we are going to become a professional band, we are going to have to quit our personal jobs we already have when we first came back."

"Don't worry Masami, Aoki had already announced our resignation and the restaurant is now hiring." Otonashi responded.

"Budget cuts to the day care near where I live forced me to get laid off." Sekine announced.

Irie becomes disappointed. "No fair, I still have to attend school while you guys go on tour."

Iwasawa laughed. "Don't worry Irie, our record label promised to bring a certified teacher to you during our tours so you can still finish school."

Irie wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but at the same time, wasn't too against it.

Otonashi's cell phone suddenly rang and turns his back for a moment to answer it. "Yes? Sounds great. Thank you. See you then." Otonashi hangs up.

"Yuzuru, who was that?"

"Oh, that was the manager of a night club I attempted to book you girls in. He accepted Girls Dead Monster as part of his booking. We are also hired to play at a local animation convention and at the Hanami festival (Cherry Blossom Festival) coming in a few days."

Everyone becomes excited, including Iwasawa, although she was the calmest besides Otonashi.

"Good job Yuzuru. Not only playing at these events will make a good start for us, it will also help us see what the audience with think about our music."

At the night club, both Otonashi and the band weren't sure about playing here since this is the first time they have been to a night club, but because they were already scheduled to play, they ignore most of their worries and began doing what they were hired to do.

Although they sound a bit different playing their original songs with only three members, the audience and the manager met their performance with positive reception. He asked them to perform for another night in the club. The band politely refused due to their schedule, but promises to mention the club as part of the road to their stardom. The manager of the club wishes them good luck.

As they head back to their respective apartments, Girls Dead Monster's well-received performance caused them to become excited for tomorrow's concert at a local animation convention in a hotel about an hour walk from Sekine's apartment.

Excited, Sekine begins jumping as she walks. "All right! Girls Demo may only have three members now, but the ovation we got from the night club proves that we haven't lost too much of our edge."

Iwasawa smiled at Sekine. "Seems like whether we have four or three members, the audience won't care as long as we still sound good. We've already seen that when we played earlier and I am hoping that the same effort will be placed on tomorrow's concert."

"I believe that that Girls Dead Monster will succeed indefinitely if they continue to perform like this." Otonashi responded.

Irie smiled. "Indeed."

The next day, the group was almost late to the convention due to them being mistaken as attendees instead of guests. Luckily, one of the staff recognizes them and let them in.

Sekine was a bit frustrated by the event. "Jeez, I can't believe they didn't recognize that we were one of the performers for the scheduled concert and we were almost late because of them."

Irie calms Sekine. "It's okay Sekine. Even if we are late, the staff would have made changes to make sure we perform since no one else took our spot."

"Come on. We only have 20 minutes before the concert starts so we have to prepare." Otonashi interrupts.

The group heads backstage to set up.

Although the band was suppose to play cover songs for the concert, they were also allowed to play some of their original songs with approval from the host, which the girls immediately accept.

Once they first started performing, only half of the audience seats were taken since they don't really know the band, but attendance gradually increased as they continue playing and more and more people took interest. As they reach the third song, all the seats were filled up as the audience cheers loudly as they learn to appreciate their music. Once they finished, the band was left exhausted, but all admitted that they had fun performing in front of the biggest crowd they ever had since returning back to living.

Although the band's most important concert is tomorrow at the Hanami festival, everyone seemed confident about the event since their last two concerts were met with success, but Iwasawa seems to have another idea in mind for the festival and stares at Otonashi as she thinks.

"Hey Yuzuru."

"Yes? What is it Masami?"

"Do you think we can celebrate the festival after the concert?"

"We should be. The host of the concert said that one of the benefits of performing in the festival includes having fun after. I don't know about you, but I am sure the rest of us are ready to have fun."

"Then I want to have fun too." Iwasawa and Otonashi smiled at each other while Irie and Sekine just curiously watched.

Back at the apartment, Iwasawa opens her closet and takes out a pink komon kimono with patterns of flowers that has apparently been inside for a very long time. She faces the mirror and puts her kimono in front of her. Satisfied with the appearance, she puts her kimono in her bag and plans to change into it after the concert tomorrow in hopes of surprising Otonashi. The other members of Girls Dead Monster and Otonashi did not meet her enthusiasm of the festival as they are more focused on the concert rather then having fun, although Otonashi hopes that the girls have fun in the festival.

The next day in the Hanami festival, almost the entire area was crowded with people celebrating the event. In the concert area, the equipment are still being put to place as the scheduled performers get ready. Iwasawa hid her bag under some of the sound equipment to prevent anyone from finding out her surprise to Otonashi and grabs her guitar as they prepare to perform in their most important concert as of yet.

Because the concerts were happening in such a quick time, the girls did not figure what songs to play for this concert, but were not discouraged due to the confidence gained from the previous nights performing. They eventually settled with some of the songs they played yesterday in the convention and the nightclub the day before.

After they performed their selected songs, the large crowd demanded an encore, but the girls are out of ideas on what to play. Otonashi comes to the backstage to see Iwasawa.

"Yuzuru, the crowd wants us to do one more performance, but we already played our selected songs. We did not rehearse for the others."

"Then give it to them. I still know one more song that you are good at no matter how long ago you last played it, because its also your most important one."

Iwasawa understands what Otonashi is suggesting. "You are saying that Girls Demo should play My Song?"

"I would like to hear that again if you don't mind. It really creates an influence on me back in the afterlife to keep moving. I want the crowd to receive that same message that the song brings. Think you could do that?"

Iwasawa kisses Otonashi on the cheek. "Now I can." She then turns to Irie and Sekine. "You girls know how to play My Song?"

Sekine nodded. "I practiced that song in my apartment after remembering how you disappeared. I think I am good enough for it."

"I was also working on the beat of that song not long after I returned to the band so lets put it together and give it a try." Irie grabs her drumsticks and heads out to the stage with the rest following.

As the girl performed a rock version of My Song, this version of the song starts to affect some of the audience the same way as it affected some of the members of the SSS due to the meaningful lyrics in the song. Some of the more emotional ones broke down in tears as the rest wave their hands up slowly as they listen. After the encore performance, the audience heavily applauded Girls Demo and signifies their satisfaction with the performance.

The concert was finally over and Iwasawa went to the girl's restroom to change while Otonashi, Irie, and Sekine enjoy the festival themselves. When Otonashi was trying to win a prize in a game booth shooting various items, Aoki, wearing a simply designed kimono bumps into him while also trying to enjoy the festival.

"I thought I would bump into you Otonashi when I saw Girls Dead Monster performing. Seems like they are doing very well with only three members."

"Hey Aoki, thanks for coming. How is the restaurant business by the way?"

"Pretty good. I was promoted to assistant manager while I was trying to hire staff to replace you and Iwasawa since you left."

"Good for you. Once I get the girls to the record label, my promise to Iwasawa would be fulfilled."

"I wish all of you good luck, but promise me that we will see each other again after all of you have made it."

"I will. See you around." Otonashi now focuses on the prizes after saying goodbye to Aoki and shoots down the most difficult target in the back that was moving back and forth. Most of the prizes were guitars and he was given a black PRS Custom guitar as the prize, which he plans to give to Iwasawa along with a cute teddy bear he won throwing rings onto the bottle.

Iwasawa came out in her pink kimono as she meets Otonashi near the game booths and as she expected, Otonashi became surprised at her change in appearance.

"So what do you think Yuzuru?" Iwasawa blushed a little.

"Wow, very beautiful." Otonashi continues to stare much to Iwasawa's embarrassment.

"So shall we go and have fun?" Iwasawa asked.

"Huh? Oh yes, of course." Otonashi comes back to his senses and prepares to enjoy the whole day with Iwasawa when she notices the guitar and teddy bear.

"Yuzuru, you started having fun before I came out?" Iwasawa becomes displeased.

"I actually tried winning these prizes for you Masami."

"What?" Iwasawa stares at her prizes and smiled.

"Thank you Yuzuru." Immediately Iwasawa becomes happy as she grabs Otonashi's arm and head towards the other booths.

They spend the whole day trying out different booths and eating at different places, one of which caused Iwasawa to immediately buy water after eating a spicy takoyaki, causing her to chase Otonashi briefly after he tricked her into trying it.

They then went to a fortune-telling booth to get some hints of their future together as a couple. The fortune teller predicts that the two will encounter some difficulties at first, but will eventually prevail at the end and continue to live happily afterwards.

Sekine and Irie went to different areas trying to enjoy the festival, but Sekine forces her to go into a simply-built haunted house which causes her to run out of the exit being chased by Sekine.

Later in the evening, Iwasawa sits down leaning her head on Otonashi's shoulders as they watched the cherry blossoms flow by the river.

"Yuzuru, think we can do this again someday?"

"I am hoping to do this with you again in the fireworks festival in the summer. It would be very beautiful to watch and enjoy together." Otonashi holds Iwasawa on the shoulder.

"Agreed." Iwasawa lifts her head up as she continues watching.

Sekine, Irie, and Aoki, who are looking forward to relax after being involved with many popular events in the festival, soon join them.

In Kyoto, Hisako prepares to take a trip back to the city where she was briefly reunited with Girls Dead Monster. Yui takes notice of this.

"Going back to Girls Demo huh?"

"I love being here with you and playing with you Yui, but…"

"You feel that you can't leave your friends." Yui finished Hisako's sentence.

"I guess you feel can't handle the stress of being with two bands huh? If that's the case, then you should go back."

"Huh?" Hisako becomes confused.

"I knew that you were considering going back ever since you reunited with Girls Demo. If this is where you feel the most comfortable, then you should go."

"But what about Alive and Well?"

"Don't worry, I will take care of that problem. For now, I will tell the band and manager about the situation and see where we can go from there." Yui smiled.

"The tour is already over anyway so we shouldn't be in too much trouble. Go to where you feel you belong."

Hisako hesitated at first, but eventually decides to let Yui handle their band. "I maybe going back to Girls Demo, but I got a feeling that we will work together again someday. I'll see you sooner than you think."

"I'll be looking forward to that when the time comes. See you later Hisako."

Hisako left the hotel as Yui watches.

**This is the longest chapter I have written so far, but I probably won't keep that up in the later chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because there is still more to come.**


	10. Hisako Part 4

**Hisako Part 4**

Hisako arrives at the area where she reunited with Otonashi and the rest of the members Girls Dead Monster, but her excitement made her forget that she doesn't know where they are. With the money she earned from the tour, Hisako decides to stay in a hotel room for a couple of weeks. Despite knowing her chances of finding her friends being low, she already made plans to explore the whole city in search for them.

Hisako first starts off by exploring near the area where she met them, but with no success. She then decides to look for clues rather than trying to find them directly, although she has no idea where to start from there.

As she became deep in thought while walking down through a marketplace, she heard two boys talking about the concert at the Hanami Festival that took place yesterday.

"Man those girls can really rock. I mean they only have three members and yet they were able to make themselves sound so melodic." One of them said.

"I agree. If they ever release an album, I would buy it off of them in a heartbeat. What was the name of the band again? Girls Dead Monster?" The other said.

"That's correct."

Hisako immediately rushes to the two boys upon hearing the band's name. "Excuse me boys, do you know where the Hanami festival take place?"

The taller boy responded. "The other part of the festival isn't until next week."

"It doesn't matter if I don't know where it is."

"If that is the case, it is located in the park in the further south of town. Why do you want to know that?"

"I actually happen to know Girls Dead Monster in case you didn't know. Do you know where they are now?"

"They moved almost all over the place from performing at the night club to the Hanami festival from what I have heard so I don't know where they exactly are, but I think you better look in the south of town since they mostly perform there."

"Okay, thanks." Hisako then heads outside of the marketplace.

"If you meet them, asked them to give me an autograph!" The boy yelled.

"What is wrong with you?" The shorter one yelled.

"Nothing, I am just a huge fan of them."

"So am I, but don't rely on a stranger to do you that favor just because she claims she knows Girls Dead Monster. You shouldn't have given her the information you told her earlier." The taller boy lightly hits the shorter boy in the back of the head.

"Sorry man." The boys then head off in their own direction.

Hisako ignores them later calls for a cab to head to the park in the south. After Hisako is seated, she again left herself in deep thought, hoping that she isn't too late for her to come back to them.

"I wonder if they still want me to be with them." Hisako thought to herself.

She then remembers the time she spend with the band and soon her doubt turns to hope as she knows that she can never truly be replaced.

The rest of members of Girls Dead Monster are back in Iwasawa's apartment room writing a new song for the record label that Iwasawa went before meeting Otonashi.

Otonashi questions Iwasawa's refusal to use the band's previous songs to perform for the audition.

"Masami, I can respect your decision not to use Girls Dead Monster's songs you have written in the afterlife, but can you tell me why?"

"I really don't feel that we should use any of the songs that I have written with Hisako for the audition. If we are going to move on, we are going to have to distance ourselves from what we used to be and focus on what we are now. I said that before didn't I?"

"Yes, but you don't seem to have that problem when you performed the songs at the small concerts I booked Girls Demo to play."

"That was because those songs are all we got. I feel that we need something different if we are going to head to the next big step and stickling to the same old formula wouldn't be the same without Hisako, especially now that I am the band's only guitarist."

Otonashi looks over Iwasawa's shoulder as she is writing to read the lyrics. "So what's the new song called anyway?"

"The song is titled Ready to Fly, based on the experience from all of us and about how we have to overcome the obstacles in our lives to move on to the next step. I plan to make it a bit upbeat in order to suit our style a bit more and once that is done, we will have the song submitted to the producers."

Otonashi smiles. "I am glad to see that you can write songs now compared to before Masami."

Iwasawa became embarrassed after remembering her inability to write songs before meeting Otonashi.

"Well, it was thanks to you I could write songs again Yuzuru, so thank you."

"I am glad to help."

Sekine and Irie are slightly annoyed with Otonashi and Iwasawa's relationship as they are being ignored.

"Hey, what about us? We helped too!" Sekine protested.

Iwasawa turns to Sekine and Irie. "You girls have my thanks also for coming back to the band. It is because you girls weren't there I wasn't able to write songs before so me and Yuzuru are extremely grateful that both of you now have the same dream as we do."

"We are friends Iwasawa so we will always help each other." Irie responded.

Otonashi then gets everyone back on track. "It will take a long time for us to record a demo with what we have so come on everyone, let's work on the song."

As Iwasawa writes the song, Irie and Sekine decides to work on the beat, even though the songs isn't even finished yet. Iwasawa, however, actually thought that the beat matches her idea of the song, which encourages the girls to make new ideas for the other parts of the song.

The next day, the song is finished, but now they have to record the demo the label, which took longer than expected. They decided to form a temporary small studio in Iwasawa's room and had the song made there. After finding their style for the song, the band begins to edit it and record it. However, because they lack experience in recording songs, the process is much longer than expected as they all were forced to stay up all night to make sure that there are no mistakes while editing the song.

After the edits were done, they had to put everything together in order for them to record the song properly. Since the recording studio doesn't exactly have the best equipment, they must make sure that no additional sound is heard during the recording process or they will be forced to start over.

It took several tries until they were able to get it right and finally out comes Girls Dead Monster's first demo CD of their new song.

After Iwasawa mails to the CD to the label, they decide to rest at the park where the second part of the Hanami festival is being set up currently.

Iwasawa sighs as she looks at the new booths being set up. "Its too bad that we don't get to celebrate the other parts of the festival isn't it Yuzuru?"

"I agree, but at least all of us were able to make the best out of it when we did celebrate it right?"

"Speak for yourself." Irie spoke up. "Sekine got me into a haunted house just to scare me."

Irie becomes embarrassed as everybody starts to laugh.

"Don't worry everyone, we still have other festivals to look forward to. I will make sure that you at least get to celebrate some of them as your manager."

"I'll be looking forward to when that time comes. I cannot wait to tease Irie again." Sekine smiles as Irie pouts at her.

"All right, let's just spend the time we have together before the record label contacts us about the auditions, because after we go through this, we won't have as much free time as we do now."

The group follows Otonashi's suggestion and proceeds with doing as much as they can in the city as they continue to explore.

Hisako, however, isn't having much luck finding them. She already searched frantically around the area where the rest of Girls Dead Monster performed and becomes a little frustrated with the lack of progress. As she continues searching, a familiar face recognizes her.

"Hisako, is that you?"

Hisako turns around and saw Aoki, who was taking a day off from work.

"It's me Aoki, remember? We first met after the concert with Otonashi and the others."

Hisako was finally relieved to meet someone she remembers. "Yes, I remember. Do you know where they are now by the way?"

"No, but they did contact me that by tomorrow, they plan to audition for a record deal after mailing a demo to the producers. You wanted to go back to them right?"

"Yeah. I am sorry it took me this long to realize it."

"Its not me you should apologize to. If you want to see them tomorrow, the record label is located on the other side of the park. Better go in the morning if you don't want to be late."

"Yes, thank you." Hisako then waits for a taxi as Aoki left.

Aoki turns around at the last minute. "Make sure to tell them I said hi once you see them."

"I will and thanks again."

The cab finally arrives and Hisako finally left the area with the intention of coming back to reunite with Girls Dead Monster.

As Aoki walks, she begins to hope that Girls Dead Monster are forgiving enough to let Hisako back in, but remains optimistic nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Otonashi and the rest of the band heads back to the apartment and receives a letter of approval of the demo and asked them to meet up tomorrow for them to perform. The group becomes excited knowing that they have succeeded.

The next day, the group heads to the record label where they are suppose to perform, but when they got there, they are surprised to see someone none other than Hisako with her guitar, who has been waiting for no longer than an hour.

"Hello there." Hisako said as the group is still in disbelief.

"Hisako?" Iwasawa spoke first. "What are you doing here?"

"I went back to the area where we finally met after all this time and accidentally bumped into Aoki while searching for you girls. Aoki told me that you girls were going to audition here so I thought I would meet everyone here as well. I want to come back to Girls Dead Monster."

"But you are already in another band with Yui. What happened to that?"

"Yui let me go under the condition that Girls Demo and Alive and Well can tour together someday. I already apologized to Aoki that it took me this long to realize it and now I want to apologize to you for it. I hope that everyone can forgive me."

"Of course." Otonashi said. "This band is not really Girls Dead Monster without you."

Irie then spoke up. "We had always wanted you back Hisako."

"Please don't leave the band anymore." Sekine also spoke.

"I don't plan to." Hisako smiles as Iwasawa also welcomes her return.

The producers, however, weren't so optimistic. One of them even protested against the reunion.

"Hey, the demo you sent us was only played by the three of you, adding her might be a bad decision."

Iwasawa fought back. "We had more of a struggle making such a song without Hisako, because we had to desperately change our own style to fit. With Hisako back in the band, you will see that we sound better playing our previous songs than the one we just wrote."

Otonashi also interrupts on Iwasawa's behalf and turns to the other producers. "Just give us a chance. I am sure you will all be impressed with what the four of them can bring."

The producers remain reluctant, but accept the decision and allow all members to perform in the auditions. As they had to the studio, Hisako notices Iwasawa's PRS Custom Guitar.

"I never seen you playing with that guitar Iwasawa."

"It was a prize that Yuzuru won me." Iwasawa blushed after remembering that she never told Hisako about the relationship she has with Otonashi.

"Yui told me that Otonashi is currently our manager and you are already that close to him huh? Do you mind telling me all about it after we are done?"

"Sure."

Although they could no longer play the song in the demo since Hisako doesn't know the song, they played Crow Song in replacement.

After the performance was finished, one of the producers said, "They do sound better together."

He then turn to Otonashi, who was next to him during the performance. "You are the band's manager correct?"

"Yes I am."

"Well son, I expect you to help them rise to the top and with our help, hopefully, it will make things easier for you. We would like to give them a contract for a record deal and you are to take charge of everything else such as tours and gigs. Do you think you can keep up?"

"You can count on me sir." Otonashi gave thumbs up to Girls Dead Monster and they became excited after realizing that they were accepted.

"Great, the band's first tour will begin in two weeks after the contract is signed. Have the girls come to our office to discuss."

With Hisako back and a record deal secured, Girls Dead Monster is finally reunited.

**I am not done with this fanfic yet so look forward for more in the future.**


	11. Iwasawa Part 1

**Iwasawa Part 1**

With Girls Dead Monster fully reunited, Otonashi and the girls are currently working on a promotional single to make a full-length album, expected for a release a few months after the single's release. With Crow Song chosen as the single, the producers decide to make a music video out of the song to give them publicity, but would need at least a couple of days for the set to be delivered as well as making special effects for the video as the director felt that he needed the video to match the song.

With the tour in place within a couple of weeks, the staffs are forced to rush to make sure that everything is in place for the video. Otonashi and the Girls Dead Monsters themselves are currently back in their own respective apartment rooms, except for Hisako, who went back to gather her things to temporarily stay with Iwasawa and prepare for the tour.

After the packing and rearranging is complete, the group all meet in Iwasawa's room, rearranging their new song, Ready to Fly, in another style due to Hisako's return to Girls Demo as the song is also expected to be on their first album.

Due to some of the Girls Dead Monster's songs arranged for Yui's vocal range during the time she was with them in the afterlife, the band was forced to rearrange more of their songs or write new ones, but since the producers weren't in such a rush for the first album, they decided to take it easy as well. Hisako still remembers hearing Iwasawa mentioning her relationship with Otonashi and questions the couple about it.

"So you two are in a relationship right? Can you tell me how you two actually got this far that you are actually able to call each other by first names?"

Iwasawa started to explain. "We started having a relationship with each other not long after we met for the first time in this world. I have remained in contact with Yuzuru since then as we live in the same apartment. I was having some problems writing songs until he pointed out how much I miss being with my friends, which was later the main reason why I couldn't write songs I needed. He and I then agree to search for all of you, hoping that it could help me and possibly reunite the band, making him our band manager. It worked out much better than I thought in the end."

Iwasawa blushed slightly and started to play around with her fingers, while Hisako remains unconvinced of her explanation.

"Okay, so you two met each other and Otonashi promised to help you search for us as the manager of Girls Demo. Yui told me some of this before so I am not surprised, but you still haven't really explained how you two have became this close to each other."

Otonashi becomes slightly embarrassed remembering how they got together, but Iwasawa continues explaining nonetheless, despite her own embarrassment.

"Well Hisako, not long after you first rejected to come back, I found Otonashi being depressed in his room when I came to check up on him. I tried to cheer him up, but then we started to…"

Iwasawa started to stutter, but before she could continue, Sekine interrupts her.

"Kiss! The two kissed after that and that is when they started calling each other by their first names."

"SEKINE!" Otonashi and Iwasawa yelled out, as Hisako looks on surprised at both of them.

"I would never imagine you two would be this close to each other. The first names I could understand, but kissing? You two must be living the life." Hisako laughs.

"Whatever, but can we please focus more on our songs? Our tour maybe short since we are only the opening acts for bands we are touring with, but they expect us to make the songs for the first album soon after, there will be time to play around, but right now is not the time."

Iwasawa tries desperately to change the subject at the same time Hisako was about to let go of it, not wanting to tease the couple too much.

"All right, let's just rehearse for the music video we are about to shoot tomorrow." Hisako grabs her guitar as the band follows while Otonashi reviews the music sheets that were already written for the album, but suddenly remembers something and turns to Irie.

"Irie, I almost forgot to tell you, the producers were able to hire a certified teacher for our tour so you also better make room for your studies as we travel to different parts of Japan."

Irie begins to pout. "Thanks a lot Otonashi." She said sarcastically.

Girls Dead Monster then resumes their rehearsal for tomorrow.

The next day, the shooting begins with only half of the props they needed delivered. In order to compensate for the lost items, the special effects crew were forced to step up to replace the items through the use of CGI.

It took about five days for the video to be completed. Despite being forced to rush with the making of the video, the end result was surprisingly positive from the other producers.

Although the video itself did not turn out so good at first glance, Otonashi feverishly edited the video with the help of the special effects supervisor to make sure the theme of the video matches the song, such as adding CG crows during certain moments of the video. The producers, who were initially skeptical about having an inexperienced individual as the manager of Girls Dead Monster, changed their opinions about Otonashi, although one of them had always believed that he would be a great manager and the success of the video proved his point.

Although the video won't have a release until a couple weeks before the album's release, the producers remain enthusiastic about the band's potential success in the music industry. Not long after finishing the video, the producers gave Girls Demo and Otonashi a couple of days off to pack up and say goodbye to their friends for the tour as it was revealed that for the next month, the band will be touring to several cities in the Kanto region, including Chiba and Tokyo.

The first person they went to is Aoki, since she played a major role in helping Girls Dead Monster reunite again.

"Aoki." Iwasawa called.

Aoki came out of her restaurant to see Otonashi and the band together standing in front.

"Oh hello everyone. How is everything going?"

"The band just secured a record deal with our producers and we came here not only to say thank you, but to say goodbye. We are going on tour for a couple of days and we won't be able to see each other for a while."

"I know Iwasawa. I wish you all the best, but if you ever happen to play here again, do you mind if you could let me in to see one of your concerts?"

"It's the least we can do for our close friend. I will make sure the happens." Otonashi spoke up with a smile on his face and Aoki returns his smile.

"I'll see you all soon and again, good luck." Aoki heads back to the restaurant after saying her goodbyes to the group.

Soon, the members of Girls Dead Monster temporarily split up to say goodbye to their friends they made. Irie goes back to her school to say her goodbyes while Sekine goes back to the daycare center she previously worked at to tell everyone of the band's upcoming tour. The children in the day care did not take her goodbye very well and many came rushing in to hug her and soon started to cry. Sekine herself also began to cry for the children.

"Don't worry kids, I will be back. I promise I will come back." Sekine left the day care wiping a tear from her eye.

Hisako went back to her hotel room to gather the rest of her things and calls Yui to tell her about the deal that was given to Girls Dead Monster.

"Amazing Hisako! Looks like Girls Dead Monster and Alive and Well will be touring a lot sooner then I thought." Yui becomes excited over the phone.

"That idea wasn't brought to the producers yet since we only started, but at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if we are going to tour with you soon. By the way, have you bumped into anyone else from the SSS?"

"Oh yeah, I met Yuri-senpai yesterday along with TK-senpai the day before. Yuri-senpai is currently working in a movie theater in Tokyo while TK-senpai is currently auditioning to be in a dance group. Yuri-senpai told me to say hello to Girls Demo after telling her that the band is reunited and TK-senpai told me to tell the band to "rock on" in English. They told me to ask you when is Girls Dead Monster playing, because they want to attend your shows so they can see some old faces again."

"Tell them that we just started so we can't determine when we will play for you until things settle. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done."

"Sure thing Hisako. I will call you as soon as I hear more about our other friends. See you later."

"See you soon Yui." Hisako hangs up her phone and proceeds with her packing.

Otonashi and Iwasawa, on the other hand, have already said goodbye to Aoki, who was their only friend since they started working together, and waits in their apartment rooms for the others to come back, although Iwasawa is using this time to write potential new songs to get a head start on the first album, which isn't suppose to be done until the tour is over.

With the tour already planned out in four days, Otonashi was left with nothing to do and decided to visit Iwasawa in her room to see what she is doing.

"Writing new songs Masami?"

Iwasawa turns around surprised by Otonashi's sudden visit. "Well, I really have nothing to do since the rest of Girls Dead Monster are still out so I might as well get started into coming up with songs for the first album. What we have right now is not enough. What about you? You have nothing to do as well Yuzuru?"

"Everything is already planned out, but I can't help feel that I am missing something. It's probably nothing important. I am sure I will remember it someday during the tour."

"Did you make sure that all of our needed equipment is in the bus?"

"I checked when the producers introduced our bus for the tour. They have everything we need in there."

"Are you as excited for the tour as I am Yuzuru?" Iwasawa turns to Otonashi after finishing one of her songs.

"Very, I have always wanted to know what its like in the other parts of Japan. Maybe if you girls become famous enough, we can travel around the world."

"Just remember that while we may travel around the world in the future, we would be mostly busy and would barely have time to enjoy ourselves in each destination."

"I know that, but we can hope can we?"

Iwasawa giggles. "I guess we can. Maybe we can have another date in one of our destinations if we have time."

"That I definitely hope." Otonashi laughs back. "By the way, how many songs have you completed so far?"

"I have written about only three songs so far. The fourth one is what I am still working on."

"Wow, you really have a lot of song ideas don't you?"

"I have had these ideas since before Hisako came back, but I didn't have enough time to write them until now. I want to know have them written down before I forget."

"I see. Well, I better had back to my room before everyone comes back to tease us again. I'll see you tomorrow Masami."

"See you tomorrow Yuzuru."

Before Otonashi left, he turns back to Iwasawa and slowly gives her a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room, leaving Iwasawa smiling as she puts her hand on her kissed cheek.

Once Otonashi heads back to his room, he starts cooking dinner when he heard his phone ringing.

Otonashi picks it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Otonashi?" Otonashi immediately recognize that the voice belongs to one of the producers.

"Yes, why are you calling at this time?"

"I just wanted to check up if everything is going according to plan for the tour."

"Everything is fine. The girls are out for a bit to say goodbye to their friends and packing their things. They will be ready by the time the bus arrives at our apartment."

"Great. I hope you all have a good time during the tour. I'll see you later until then."

"Goodbye." Otonashi hangs up the phone as he heads to the table to eat his meal while watching television.

After finishing his meal, Otonashi then gets up to carry his plates to the sink, but nearly trips until his bookshelf broke his fall. One of the books fell and as Otonashi picks it up, he realizes that it was one of his medical books he was previously studying for his college exams he planned to sign for before meeting with Iwasawa. He then has flashbacks of his sister dying on his back and now remembers why he wanted to become a doctor in the first place.

As Otonashi finish cleaning the last of his dishes, he tries to recount how long before the sign ups for the next college exams and looks at the calendar. Much to his dismay, the sign ups for college exams will take place during the Girls Dead Monster tour, making Otonashi feel torn between his manager position for Girls Dead Monster and the promise he made to his late sister.

"What am I going to do?" Otonashi asked himself.


	12. Iwasawa Part 2

**Iwasawa Part 2**

After Girls Dead Monster secured a record deal and a tour around the Kanto region, everybody was given only a few days to get ready, but at the worst time, Otonashi was suddenly reminded of his desire to become a doctor after accidentally knocking one of his medical books off the bookshelf and onto the floor. Having flashbacks of his sister's death and with his chance to take his exam occurring within the week, Otonashi is unable to decide between his manager job and his chance to keep his promise. Not wanting to tell Girls Dead Monster about it, he plans to make his decision before the tour, but that move left him in a slight depression.

Suddenly, Otonashi heard a knock on his door and hides the book back in his shelf to avoid suspicion. Iwasawa opens the door with a smiling face towards Otonashi and walks towards him as he cleans the dishes.

"Hello Masami, what brings you to my room at this time?"

"I was wondering since the tour is only a few days away, would you like to go out tomorrow with me to walk around the city? It's going to be a while before we come back here."

"Sorry, but not today I am afraid. The producers wanted me to do a few more things tomorrow before the tour, even though I have no idea what I am doing yet." Otonashi lied.

"Really? Then are you at least available before the tour to go out?"

"I will let you know by tomorrow. It is up to the producers to determine when I have the time."

"Okay, please do." Iwasawa left with a disappointed look on her face.

Otonashi returns back to washing the dishes, feeling regret for refusing a date with Iwasawa. "I am sorry Masami, but I don't know what to do yet. I hope all of it would become clear by tomorrow."

After he finished washing his dishes, he stares at his bookshelf, wondering if he should study again. He eventually gives in and begins reading nonstop on what he forgets and where he left off.

The next day, he became so fixated on his studying that he again refused Iwasawa's offer by telling her that he will be always busy for the tour in his attempt to hide his problem. This not only causes Iwasawa to be upset with Otonashi, but also begins to get very suspicious of his behavior. Luckily, Hisako is now with Iwasawa in her apartment and tells her about Otonashi's strange behavior.

"Ever since he found out about the tour, Yuzuru has been keeping himself busy ever since, not being able to have anytime for me and the band. I wonder if he is trying to avoid me."

Hisako defends Otonashi, despite not knowing his situation. "Otonashi is probably getting used to his new job as his manager. I should know since my previous band manager was like that when he first started working for me and you."

"But is not like him to refuse without giving me an answer. Are you sure it is just that? It seems like there is more to it."

"If the record label is what is keeping him busy, maybe you can visit them tomorrow to find out when Otonashi will be free from them."

Iwasawa liked the idea. "All right, we will pay them a visit tomorrow and ask why they are keeping Yuzuru busy.

Thinking that his attempts to hide his studies are enough to keep himself busy, Otonashi remains oblivious towards Iwasawa's plan to find out what he is doing.

The next day, Iwasawa did what she promised and visited her record label. To her surprise, the producers told her that they didn't tell Otonashi to do anything, but to pack up and get ready for the tour.

"Wait, if you weren't the ones who kept Yuzuru busy, why did he tell me that he was busy because of you guys?"

"We don't know." One of the producers responded. "I only called Otonashi to check if everything is ready and he told me that things were going well with him and the band. If you would like, we could call him again to see if he is okay."

"No thanks." Iwasawa left the building unhappy with what she found out.

"How could Yuzuru lied to me about this? Why is he avoiding me so much?" Iwasawa spoke to herself. Wanting to know what Otonashi is up to, she decides to confront him and heads back to the apartment to see him. When she opened the door, however, he already left. Not knowing where he is, she decided to wait for him in her room while Hisako works helps Irie and Sekine pack for the tour.

In Sekine's apartment, Irie and Hisako are present. Hisako asked both Sekine and Irie about Otonashi's strange behavior.

"Do you think that Otonashi is overworking himself as our manager?"

"Maybe." Sekine responded. "Otonashi was fine yesterday. I am pretty sure that he is just busy getting ready that's all."

"Iwasawa doesn't seem to see it that way when I talked to her about it."

Irie spoke. "It could be stress that is affecting him. Being manager of a band is actually the hardest job among the five of us and he probably needs time to adjust. Just give him some time and I am sure that things will be a little easier for him."

"I guess you are right. Iwasawa plans to visit him after she is done with her business with the producer. We can find out from her if he is okay."

Hisako and Irie then spots Sekine carrying a huge load of things. "Lesson, I know that you girls are talking about Otonashi and all, but can someone help me carry all of this."

Irie laughs. "You don't need this many things for the tour Sekine."

"Then tell me what I do need." As Sekine stuggles to put her things down, she trips and the pile of things landed on Hisako and Irie.

"SEKINE!" Hisako screamed out of anger.

"Sorry." Sekine said slightly embarrassed.

The three proceed on helping Sekine pack her stuff for the tour.

Otonashi, on the other hand, was studying in the library. Although making choices is often difficult for him, he eventually decided that his family is more important than his career and chooses to become a doctor. Knowing that his decision will hurt the band, the label, and his relationship with Iwasawa, Otonashi finds difficulty on how he is going to break the news to them. He thought maybe a replacement for the label and band might be possible, but with the tour coming so close, the chances of finding one are low.

Not knowing what to do, he stops by Aoki's restaurant for advice. Lucky for him, Aoki is currently on break and greets him as soon as he comes inside.

Once Otonashi and Aoki are seated, Aoki decides to ask her question first. "So what brings you here at this time Otonashi?"

"I need your advice on a problem I have since the tour is only a couple of days away. It is something that I couldn't bring myself to tell in front of Girls Dead Monster and our record label."

"Then ask away."

"Last night, I accidentally bumped into my bookshelf and one of my medical books dropped on to the floor. It gave me flashbacks of my previous desire to become a doctor. I have that chance again, but the exam is going to happen during the tour. I had chosen to become a doctor, but I still feel guilty about leaving Girls Dead Monster behind. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Don't be too hard on yourself Otonashi, everyone has to make tough decisions once in a while. I always believe that to protect our relationships, we would choose our friends and family over our dreams. We always feel happier with them so why would making a decision be that hard for you? Would you really leave Girls Dead Monster for your desire?"

"It's not that simple Aoki. When I was younger, my sister died from an illness that has no particular cure. I wanted to become a doctor for her sake, to prevent anyone I see from dying the same way she did. I thought the choice was obvious for me at first, but my new relationship with the band made things more complicated for me now."

"That is a really difficult choice for you isn't it? If you have chosen to become a doctor, Girls Demo will have to know about it sooner or later, but yet I don't think your sister would have wanted you to confine your life for her sake though."

"She was the only family I had and if I can't stop people from dying the same way she did then I don't think I can have the ability to move on completely from my sister." Otonashi lowers his head down out of stress.

"You should also think what your sister wants for you and what is important to you now. I don't think is your sister that is preventing you from moving on, I think it is you dwelling into the past too much that is the cause. Think about it, would you really abandon everything you have earned now in order to atone for the tragedy that has already been done a long time ago?"

"Are you saying that I should stick with Girls Dead Monster?"

Aoki becomes a little irritated, but hides it. "No Otonashi, I wanted you to do what you feel is important to you. Have some sense between now and the past so that you won't do something you will regret. That is what will help you get over your problem."

"Thanks Aoki." Otonashi left the restaurant after saying his goodbyes.

Aoki's advice left him back at square one as he is no longer sure on whether he should become a doctor or not. Part of it was caused by not knowing what his sister really wants for him since she always depends on Otonashi to take care of her when she was alive. This doesn't stop him from studying in the library, however, as he frantically searched for more recent medical books, even though he renounced his decision to become a doctor temporarily for him to decide.

As Aoki works in her restaurant, she soon shows a worried look on her face, wondering if Otonashi will make the right decision for himself.

Back in the apartment, Iwasawa has lost patience waiting for Otonashi to come back and decides to head to his room to find out what is going on.

"Seriously Yuzuru, what is up with you all of a sudden?" Iwasawa thought to herself.

When she enters his room, she begins exploring his less private areas of the room such as his desk and bed, not wanting to push it too far to find out. She wasn't able to find anything, but continues looking anyway. She looks at Otonashi's calendar and saw that one of the days of the tour was marked, not finding anything else on it. Otonashi put the mark on the day of the exam, but did not put anything specific in order to hide it from Iwasawa.

After another hour of searching, Iwasawa was left exhausted and gives up her search and waits for Otonashi in his room instead. Iwasawa decides to read one of Otonashi's books to let time pass by, but sees that more than a third of his books are medical books. The books made Iwasawa remember about her first encounter with Otonashi, telling her about his dreams to become a doctor for the sake of his sister Hatsune. Angry that Otonashi did not tell her anymore about this, she slams the bookshelf with her hands and hears the door open. Iwasawa immediately turns to Otonashi, who is unable to say anything knowing that Iwasawa found out.

Iwasawa confronts Otonashi. "Yuzuru, what is this?"

**Sorry it took me a little later to write this one. I was busy with a new story and school work this past week and I need a rest sometimes.**


	13. Iwasawa Part 3

**Iwasawa Part 3**

As Otonashi struggles to hide his medical studies from Girls Dead Monster, Iwasawa becomes suspicious of his behavior and began taking matters into her own hands. After waiting for Otonashi for a long period of time, she enters his room and begins searching for clues to what is causing his behavior. She finds nothing at first, but soon saw that Otonashi's bookshelf has a lot of medical books, reminding her of what Otonashi said about his studies when they first met.

Otonashi finally comes back as Iwasawa was reading one of Otonashi's medical books and becomes shocked at her presence. Iwasawa immediately turns her head towards Otonashi with a concerned look on her face.

"Yuzuru, what is this?" Otonashi was unable to answer as he lowers his head, knowing that Iwasawa found out.

"Was the reason you avoided us is because you have been studying behind our backs for an exam? The exam happens to be on the same day as the tour."

"I know Masami, but when I suddenly remember my sister, I feel that I can't just throw away what I worked so hard for. I promised my sister that I would do my best to prevent people from dying the same way she did."

"But what about the hard work you have done for us? What about the tour? What about Girls Dead Monster?" Iwasawa continues to protest.

"That is also what I really wanted to do, believe me, but I feel that nothing will be done if I continue to delay my work."

"So you are really going to skip what you worked so hard for to keep that promise?"

"Tell me Masami, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Would you continue what you want or would you continue what is important?"

"Music is what I want to do, it is practically the most important thing to me. We all did not have good childhoods, which is why we met in the afterlife in the first place. I was able to move on from the past and you should to Yuzuru."

"How do you think I should move on? The reason I was in the afterlife in the first place was my lack of accomplishment for my sister. It is not that easy to give up on the regrets you have."

Iwasawa becomes more impatient. "How were you able to pass on anyway if you still have that regret?"

"Because I found out from Kanade, or better known as Tenshi, that I was able to save a life, allowing me to find peace to pass on, but now that I have another opportunity to do so, I don't want to waste it. If I die without accomplishing that, I might end up in the afterlife again."

"What about the promise you made towards me?"

"My promise to you was that I would become your manager in order to reunite Girls Dead Monster and it was accomplished. I owe you no more than that."

"Okay Yuzuru, if that is the way you feel." Tears soon started to fall from Iwasawa's face as she leaves Otonashi's room. Once the door closes, Otonashi was left feeling depressed and guilty for leaving the band and his deteriorating relationship with Iwasawa.

"I am sorry Masami." Otonashi whispered to himself before continuing his studies.

Meanwhile, back in Iwasawa's room, the rest of the band was shocked to hear that Otonashi has quit being their manager in favor of becoming a doctor.

"Hold on, both you and Otonashi worked so hard on recruiting us back and he is just suddenly leaving us?" Hisako complained.

"He doesn't what to evade the promise he made to his sister. He feels that nothing would get done if he continues to delay it." Iwasawa explained.

Sekine spoke up. "But the tour is only within a couple of days left, how could he quit when we were this close to our dream?"

"His exam is happening during the tour and he seems determined to make the deadlines, which is why he has been avoiding us recently."

Irie becomes curious. "Wait, why can Otonashi wait until the next deadline? Why does he want to take the exam now while we are touring?"

"Like I said before, Yuzuru doesn't want to delay anymore in fulfilling his promise. When he became our manager, he nearly forgot that promise and does not want to repeat that."

Hisako comforts Iwasawa. "I am sorry that this happened Iwasawa, but what are we going to do about the tour now that Otonashi has quit?"

"We will have to call the record label and tell them what happened. They will not like this, but it is better to let them know sooner than later or we might make them even more desperate than the moment we tell them."

Everyone agreed with Iwasawa's suggestion.

The next day, Girls Dead Monster did what they promised, they head to the record label and told them about Otonashi quitting the group. As expected, the producers did not respond positively, feeling that Otonashi was the best man for the job.

"How could he quit all of a sudden? We are contracted to go on your first tour in a couple of days and he quits just like that?" One of the producers complained.

"He has personal issues he has to deal with. He won't have the ability to do anything until everything is fixed."

"He is still under contract. It said so in the printed commitments he signed."

Iwasawa took the contract from the producers and begins reading. She does not like the fact that a loophole was immediately spotted on the bottom of the contract.

"If you read the contract carefully, it says that any individual with problems that affect their ability to follow the commitments are to be released from the contract until further noticed."

The producer took back the contract and re-reads it. He becomes frustrated knowing that Iwasawa is right.

"There is nothing we can do for Otonashi anymore, all we can do is make a quick notice that we need a new manager for you girls and hopefully someone will come soon enough so that we can explain everything to him or here and get this tour started on time. Leave everything to us for the time being, we will let you know if something comes up."

"Understood." Iwasawa said as she and the rest of Girls Dead Monster left the building disappointed.

"Looks like it is Girls Dead Monster without Otonashi huh?" Hisako asked.

"If Yuzuru can handle matters without our help, then we should handle ourselves without him. Come on, let's go."

The band heads back to the apartment to make final preparations for the tour.

Otonashi, in the mean time, was checking his emails on his computer and was not surprised when he finds a letter from the record label informing him of his release from the contract.

"Looks like the girls have told them about me. I guess it is for the best." Otonashi said to himself.

Otonashi gets up and was about to leave his room, but stops and looks at the picture of him and Iwasawa at the Hanami Festival. He briefly smiles and shows regret of his decision, although he still remains firm about it.

"Hopefully I can fix this eventually." Otonashi said to himself and leaves his apartment.

He decides to go to Aoki since she always gives helpful advice to him and Girls Dead Monster, but remembers that her break time isn't for another hour so he decides to take a walk around the neighborhood. All of a sudden, he heard a cry coming from what sounded like a little girl behind him and turns around. When he sees who was crying, it was a girl who looks no older than 8 with short brownish hair, wearing a white t-shirt and a pink skirt.

Otonashi walks towards the little girl. "Hello, why are you by yourself and crying?"

The little girl wipes off her tears from her face and looks at Otonashi. "I can't find my mama."

"I am sorry to hear that. Did you know where you last saw her?"

"From the department store across the street, but when I went there, she wasn't there."

Otonashi, not wanting to leave the girl alone, offers his hand. "Then lets go find your mother together. It will be dangerous if I leave you by yourself."

Although the girl was still crying, she was able to smile briefly. "Thank you mister."

The two went into the department store where the girl last saw her mother with Otonashi heading towards the cashier for information.

"Excuse me, have you seen a woman with this little girl when she walked in, because she accidentally got separated from her and got lost. I am trying to help find her mother."

"Oh yes, she went to try some clothes in the fitting room, but the little girl did not see where she was. The store was extremely crowded about an hour ago so it was no surprise that she and her mother got separated."

"Do you know where did the mother go?"

"No, but I did see her looking for her daughter and turns left as soon as she went outside."

"Thank you."

"Let me know if you need help. We can call security if you need."

"We will keep looking first before we come back, but thanks again." Otonashi and the girl immediately heads outside and turns left as the cashier informed and asked everyone nearby if they saw the girl's mother. After frantically searching, their last stop was near the park where Otonashi buys a crepe for the girl to calm her as he takes a break.

"Do you think we will find mama?" The girl asked as she eats.

"I think we can if we keep looking, but everyone needs a rest sometimes. We will keep looking after a few minutes."

"Okay."

Otonashi just sits there as he watches the little girl happily eating her crepe. When it is time for them to keep looking, Otonashi hears a voice coming from the near phone booth.

"Hello? Is this the police? Listen my daughter is missing and I can't find her. Can you get help?" The women said.

Otonashi turns to the girl. "Hey, is that your mother in the phone booth?"

The little girl turns to the phone booth and begins to cry as she runs towards it. "Mama! Mama!"

The women turns around and immediately recognizes her, coming out of the phone booth and hugs her in a tight embrace.

The girl turns towards Otonashi. "Mama, this man was the one who helped me find you?"

"He did?" The girl nodded at her mother.

"Sir, thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"No problem. I couldn't leave her alone after seeing her cry."

"Still though, thank you. Is there anything that we can do to repay you?" The women asked.

"No thanks. I am just glad that you two are back together."

"Thank you mister!" The little girl screamed out as her mother carries her off with Otonashi waving back.

When Otonashi looks at his watch, he becomes disappointed that he was late to see Aoki as her break time is now over. With his deadline nearing, he decides to head to a small college building where the sign ups for the medical exams are being held. As he runs towards the direction, he sees Iwasawa standing right in front of him, who is just as surprise to see him.

"Yuzuru, what are you doing here?"

"I am on my way to sign up for the college exam. The deadline is today so I have to go now."

"I see. It took me some time to realize that both of us are different in what we want to do with our lives and all I did was to try to get you back without considering your feelings. I am sorry for doing such a thing."

"It is me who should apologize Masami, I started this on such short notice that I…" Before Otonashi can finish, Iwasawa walks up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I know Yuzuru. Good luck and goodbye." Iwasawa begins to get teary-eyed and left, leaving Otonashi confused and saddened.

As Aoki helps clean up the restaurant, a young girl with long red hair comes in and looks up at the wall, seeing a picture of Aoki with Otonashi and Girls Dead Monster.

"Excuse me miss."

Aoki turns towards the girl. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Why is Onii-chan in this picture?"

Aoki becomes shocked at what the girl just said, realizing that the girl standing in front of her is Otonashi's little sister, whom she was told has died.


	14. Iwasawa Part 4

**Iwasawa Part 4**

Otonashi's little sister went inside of Aoki's restaurant, only to find a picture of Otonashi with Aoki and Girls Dead Monster. Upon realizing that Aoki has strong connections to her brother, she turns to Aoki and asked why he is in the picture. Aoki only responded by having a surprised look on her face when she told her that she is Otonashi's sister, Hatsune Otonashi, who was told to have died a while ago.

"Wait, are you really Otonashi's little sister?" Aoki asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Why are you so surprised that he has a sibling?"

"Because Otonashi told me that you died some time ago and that is the reason why he is working as hard as he can at the moment."

Hatsune immediately realized that Otonashi has told his friends that she was dead, not knowing that she too has been in the afterlife and has already been reincarnated long before Otonashi himself, has passed on.

Hatsune becomes desperate to find another way to explain the situation to Aoki.

"I suppose he forgot to mention that he had an adopted sister not long after her first one died." Hatsune lied.

"He never mentioned that he had an adopted sister."

"That's because our parents were separated not long after her death due to family disputes and we haven't seen each other since. Maybe that is why Onii-chan never mentioned me."

"It is a pretty hard event to get over isn't it?" Aoki begins to sympathize Hatsune as she continues to hear her false stories.

"Well, now that I am here, I would like to see him and hopefully stay with him again like we used to."

"Well you better hurry to let Otonashi know that you are here. His work is starting to deteriorate his relationship with his friends and soon enough his career will also probably be affected."

"Yes, but I don't know where he is." Hatsune begins to sigh.

"He lives in the closest apartment from here. He should probably be in his room by now. If he isn't there, he must be in the park or the library."

"Thank you so much Miss."

Before Hatsune gets out of the restaurant, Aoki briefly stops her. "Before you go, my name is Aoki by the way and Otonashi happens to be one of my closest friends. Tell him I said hi when you see him."

"Okay." Hatsune leaves happily, knowing that her older brother is nearby and is eager to reunite with him.

When Hatsune goes into the apartment as directed, she went to the landlady to ask for Otonashi's room. The landlady asked what is her reason for visiting since she has never seen her before. When she told her that she was Otonashi's sister, the landlady immediately gives her the desired information and immediately reaches there. When she pushed the doorbell, there was no answer. Determined to see Otonashi again she waited in the halls for ten minutes until Iwasawa, who wanted to get her spare key out of Otonashi's apartment, found her.

"Hello, why are you waiting out here in the halls?"

"I am waiting for Otonashi to come home to see me. Why are you here?" Hatsune clearly doesn't want to tell someone she doesn't know that she is his sister.

"I just want to get my spare key from his room, which I mistakenly left from one of our past visits."

"Wait, how do you know about Otonashi? What is your relationship with him?"

"I should be asking you that question. I have already known Otonashi for many months now and I never saw you around him before." Iwasawa was careful not to expose her relationship with Otonashi by saying his last name.

Exposed with nothing to fight back with, Aoki attempts to use the same lie by telling her that she is Otonashi's adopted sister, but Iwasawa isn't buying it as she continues to stare at Hatsune. She then notices a familiarity between her and Otonashi.

"Don't lie to me. If Otonashi were your brother, you wouldn't have called him by his name. I'll admit though, you two look very similar to each other."

Iwasawa takes a closer look at Hatsune, who is becoming nervous of Iwasawa's suspicion.

"Wait a minute. Are you actually Yuzuru's now formerly deceased sister, Hatsune? He mentioned you before."

Caught right in the spot, Hatsune knows that there is no fooling Iwasawa, but notices something about her when Iwasawa realizes that she is alive.

"Wait how do you know Onii-chan's name and how do you know I was formerly dead?"

"Me and Yuzuru were on the same boat once before, but now we are back the same way you came back."

"Onii-chan died? I was hoping that he would remain alive, but if he was dead, how come I wasn't able to see him in the afterlife?" Hatsune becomes saddened.

"You probably died and came back during a different time than either of us. You probably would have been with your brother if you had been around the same time he was."

"Okay, but why did you start calling Onii-chan by his first time name? Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend or something?"

Iwasawa blushed knowing that Hatsune is right. "Um, let's talk about this later all right?"

"Wait a minute, if his sister is who he was working so hard for the whole time, what will Yuzuru think if he sees that she is alive now?" Iwasawa thought to herself.

"Hey, why don't we wait in his room until Yuzuru comes back? I am sure that he is very busy right now."

'Okay." Hatsune agreed.

Iwasawa goes into Otonashi's room to get her spare key and, eager to know more about his sister, immediately gets into a conversation with Hatsune. Hatsune reveals that she died from cancer and how Otonashi was always taking care of her prior to that. Although that most of the things she wanted to do with her brother were fulfilled, including seeing the Christmas lights before finally succumbing to her cancer, she reveals that her regret was not being able to spend as much time with Otonashi as much as she wanted to. She eventually passed on after remembering how happy she was in her final moments with him and finds herself given another chance in life.

In return, Iwasawa told her about how she died and how music helps her move on. Although reluctant, she told Hatsune about her relationship with Otonashi from how they first met after given a second chance all the way to how they became lovers. Iwasawa also tells her about what has been going on since they came back and becomes saddened hearing that their relationship is deteriorating. Upon realizing that Otonashi is working hard for her sake, she tries to go out to find him, but was stopped by Iwasawa, saying that there is a better chance of reuniting with him in his own room. Hatsune reluctantly agrees to stay behind.

"Hey, do you think you and Onii-chan could make up after everything that has happened?"

"It is something that me and Yuzuru will have to work out on our own. Hopefully things will get better with you around."

"If Onii-chan decides to go on a tour with Girls Dead Monster, can I please come with you?" Hatsune starts to beg.

"I know how much you miss your brother. I guess you can come, but only if you can help out in some way."

"Leave it to me." The two girls smiled at each other as they wait.

Otonashi, however, was left exhausted after studying non-stop for hours and sees Irie , Sekine, and Hisako walking together in front of him.

"Hey!" Otonashi called out, but was ignored by the girls, who are still mad at him for suddenly quitting the band.

"I guess I deserved to be alone." Otonashi sighs as he heads back to the apartment.

When he opens the door, the first things he see in his room are Iwasawa and Hatsune sleeping together, apparently out of boredom. The sight of Hatsune shocked Otonashi as he never expected that she would be alive again.

"Hatsune? Is that you?" Otonashi asked.

Hatsune wakes herself up and rubs her eyes, only to see Otonashi standing in front of her.

"Onii-chan?" Hatsune called out.

When Hatsune fully regains consciousness, she immediately smiles as she continues to look at Otonashi and rushes to hug him.

"Onii-chan, It is you! Iwasawa, wake up, Onii-chan is back."

Iwasawa struggles to get up as she rubs her eyes and smiles as she sees Hatsune and Otonashi hugging each other.

"I see that you are finally back from your studies Yuzuru."

"Masami, why didn't you tell me that Hatsune is alive when you first saw her."

"I wanted to be a surprise. If I had called you, you would probably ignore it to focus more on your studies. She was in the same place as we are in the afterlife, just coming and going in a different time. Speaking of which, your sister doesn't want us to fall apart. She told me that you no longer needed to work hard for her sake again. All she wants is to be with you."

Otonashi takes a look at Hatsune as she continues to embrace him. "Is that true?"

Hatsune nodded. "I never wanted you to do this even when I was dead. All I wanted was for you to be happy Onii-chan. Please stick with what really makes you happy."

Otonashi soon starts feeling guilty for leaving the band as he turns back to Iwasawa.

"That is only if the band will forgive me."

"I will." Iwasawa responded. "But only if you promise never to do that again."

"I plan to only stick with you girls from now on. I will never allow myself to lose you ever again."

With Otonashi and Iwasawa's relationship fixed, Iwasawa contacts the rest of Girls Dead Monster for Otonashi to reconcile to them as well. When Girls Dead Monster finally meet up in Iwasawa's room, they were skeptical of Otonashi's apology.

"So you said you were sorry and plan to never leave us from now on, right?" Hisako asked.

"Never again will I make that mistake. I am also sorry it took me a while to realize what I was doing and what my sister really wanted for me." Otonashi lowers his head in hopes that they will show mercy.

"Are you sure this isn't just an excuse to come back now that your sister actually turns out to be alive?" Sekine also asked with suspicion.

"No, but I will admit what my sister told me is what helped me get back to my feet. I often worked so hard for her sake that I didn't have time for anything else. This time I will live my own life, to find my happiness within my friends. All that now leaves is if you would let me."

Hisako, Irie, and Sekine stare at each other for a moment and nodded.

"Well, we never wanted you to leave anyway. Welcome back to being the manager of Girls Demo." Irie smiled.

"First thing is first, I have to call the producers to rehire you back into their contract." Iwasawa takes out her phone to make a call.

"I also got to cancel my exam I signed up for." Otonashi also took out his phone to make a call.

"They really are alike aren't they?" Irie remarked.

Hisako laughs. "If they weren't they probably wouldn't have as good of a relationship as they do now."

After fixing the broken relationship between Otonashi and the record label, they all decided to do last minute shopping for Hatsune since she is coming to the tour with her brother. With everything scheduled as planned before Otonashi's incident, they were all ready to leave the next day.

Once the bus finally arrived, the girls were excited with the comfortable setting, which is almost the same size as Sekine's apartment room, much to her dismay due to the size comparison between her's and Iwasawa and Otonashi's.

"So is everybody ready for the tour?" The driver asked as he helps the group packed their bags.

"YEAH!" The group shouted.

As they ride in the bus, Hatsune begins playing with Sekine and Irie while Otonashi and Iwasawa smile as they turn to each other, knowing that a bright future is ahead of them.

**This was probably the worst chapter that I have written. I only have an epilogue left, which is good since I am running out of ideas for this story. Few of the reviewers mentioned a lot of ideas they want me to add to this story and it sounds good if it wasn't for my inability to write long stories. I decided that I am going to allow all readers to use my story ideas for their own stories and, if they wish, make a reboot if they feel that they want to make my story better as long as partial credit is given to me as influence. Thank you for reading and I hoped that you all enjoyed it till the end.**


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Within the middle of the tour, the group's next stop is Tokyo, much to their excitement since they get to play at the Ajinomoto Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium often used for concerts as well as sports. With promotional posters found in many of the streets as well as their music videos on the most popular music channels, it is expected for the stadium to be filled up to at least 70 percent or maybe even more, making it the largest crowd they will ever perform in front of.

Irie becomes excited. "Oh man, I am so nervous about getting to perform in the Ajinomoto Stadium. This will be the biggest concert we ever performed in."

"You and everyone else Irie. How do you think the rest of us feel performing in front of tens of thousands of people that are going to show up?" Iwasawa attempts to keep her composure.

Hatsune looks up towards Otonashi. "Onii-chan?"

"What is it Hatsune?"

"Where do me and the rest of the staff go to watch the concert?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I had special seats reserved in the stadium for both you and me to watch and to meet them backstage between songs and after the concert is over."

Before Hatsune can continue, a familiar face shows up in front of them.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Otonashi looks up and sees Yuri standing in front of him, much to his disbelief.

"Yuri? Is that really you?"

"Who else could it be?" Yuri teases the group a little.

"Yuri-senpai, it's been so long since I last saw you." Irie becomes excited again.

"It's good to see all of you again. I really missed all of you since I passed on myself. When I heard that you are scheduled to perform in Tokyo, I immediately rushed to get tickets in hopes of seeing you, but that is no longer the case since you are all here now."

"Likewise, it's good to see you too Yuri. By the way, did you manage to bump into other former members of the SSS since returning back?" Iwasawa asked.

"Hinata and Yui should be coming out of the stadium soon. It looks like Girls Dead Monster will be supporting Hinata's baseball team along with Alive and Well, Yui's band."

Hisako laughs. "For many of us about to reunite together, it really is a small world after all."

"It gets even smaller. I heard TK, Fujimaki, and Oyama are also coming to the stadium to watch the concert and the game."

Yuri turns to Otonashi. "One more thing Otonashi."

She then calls out to someone who has been hiding in the alley. "You can come out now, he and Girls Dead Monster are here."

Otonashi and Girls Dead Monster looked towards Yuri's direction and saw Kanade coming out smiling.

"K-Kanade?" Otonashi again goes into a state of disbelief.

"It is finally good to see you again Yuzuru." Kanade kept her smile while looking at Otonashi's surprised face.

"When both of us passed on, I didn't see you until now. I actually thought that all of your regrets have passed and moved on like the others."

"None of us have actually seen each other the first time we came back to this world so it is not a surprise."

"Hold it." Iwasawa interrupted. "Since when did you call each other by first names?"

"Sorry Masami, but me and Kanade did have a close relationship until we passed on. We had no contact at all after that so I decided that it was best for me to move on."

Iwasawa laughs a bit. "Don't worry. I already how much has changed since we came back."

Iwasawa turns to Kanade. "I guess you already know everything right?"

"I can already tell after Yuzuru called Iwasawa-senpai by her first name. What kind of relationship do you have with her?" Kanade asked.

Yuri overheard Kanade and also became curious. "She is right. I expected Girls Dead Monster to come, but I didn't expect Otonashi to be here. Can you explain Otonashi?"

"Onii-chan is Iwasawa's boyfriend and the band's manager!" Hatsune screamed out.

"HATSUNE!" Both Iwasawa and Otonashi screamed out of embarrassment.

Yuri smiles in response. "I see, so that's what 's up between you two as well as the band." She then turns to Hatsune. "By the way, who are you?"

"My name is Hatsune, Yuzuru's younger sister. By the way, onii-chan never told me about you. Did you two meet in the afterlife and became friends there?"

"Pretty much. I see that your own experience in death allows you to figure out that some of us are your onii-chan's friends, is that right?"

"Yes, but how did you know that I died?"

"Your onii-chan told us when he was trying to remember how he died. When he first came here he lost all of his memories, but with our help, he was able to gain them back."

"I see, but is it okay for me to be friends with you?"

"Of course, we can be like one big happy family."

Yuri turns to Otonashi, who is still talking to Kanade about his relationship with Iwasawa. "First Otonashi needs to work things out with his relationship with Kanade and Iwasawa. Hopefully, they will all get along after that."

"I think they will. After all, onii-chan isn't a bad person."

Yuri smiles at Hatsune's response as she continues watching Otonashi.

Otonashi, in the meantime, tries to explain to Kanade about how he moved on in an attempt to remedy the possible ill feelings she might have towards his relationship with Iwasawa. Much to his surprise, however, Kanade not only took it well, but also wishes them the best of luck.

"Yuzuru, it's okay. Everyone has got to start off from somewhere. I can already see that you are able to and I am happy about that."

"You mean you are okay with me and Masami being together?"

"I had already supported your relationship when Hatsune told us about it earlier. It shows that you already move on. Things can't stay the same here and there and I think it is for the best honestly."

Kanade's approval allows Otonashi to smile at her for the first time since the afterlife. "Thanks Kanade, but I don't want anything to change with us being friends."

"Don't worry Yuzuru, we will always be friends, but that is only if you and Girls Dead Monster would keep in touch with us."

"We will make sure that we all stay together!" Sekine replied with excitement.

Iwasawa walks towards Kanade and takes a look at her. " Kanade, so that is your real name huh?"

Kanade giggled a little. "I didn't know what your first name was until Otonashi called you Masami."

Iwasawa also laughs a little. "You are right. Listen, if weren't busy fighting against you, maybe we could have been friends earlier. Sorry about judging you without getting to know you."

"Yuri-senpai told me the same thing before she passed on. It's better late than never actually and I will be more than happy to become your friend. Thank you Masami-senpai."

"Kanade, please lose the senpai. We are now close friends so let us just simply call each other by our first names okay?"

"Very well Masami. I am also a bit excited to watch the band perform in concert Do you think you can perform My Song again?"

"Definitely, since it is also my favorite song to play."

With Kanade and Iwasawa's friendship established, Kanade turns her attention towards Hatsune, who also looks at her with curiosity.

"You are Yuzuru's younger sister right?"

"Yes I am."

"Want to sit next to me to cheer your brother's band when they perform?"

Hatsune accepts Kanade's offer. "Why would I refuse cheering for the band onii-chan helped put back together?"

When all were finally reacquainted, Hinata and Yui suddenly burst out of the stadium with Yui's band members following, rushing in after seeing Otonashi and Girls Dead Monster together with Kanade and Yuri.

Hinata was the first to greet Otonashi. "Yo Otonashi, it's good to see you again. How have things been since returning back to this world?"

"Great Hinata. We made new friends and new relationships."

"I know, Yui told me everything, including your relationship with Iwasawa. Me and Yui are together you know."

"Then I wish you two the best of luck in your relationship."

Otonashi offers his hand, which Hinata accepts without hesitation and both shook hands after making contact each other for the first time in the living world.

Yui becomes excited after reuniting with Girls Dead Monster again and turns to Hisako.

"It looks like that our promise to work with each other again came sooner than expected. Both of us will be playing at the same stadium and I can't wait for it to happen!"

"Calm down Yui. I am just as excited as you are and, hopefully, we will do better than ever."

"You can count on that." Yui remarked before she turns to Iwasawa.

"Iwasawa-senpai, are you going to play some of the songs you performed in the after life? I would like to hear those again if the band doesn't mind."

"Girls Dead Monster wouldn't have formed without those songs so of course we will play them."

"Before everyone goes back to work, why don't we all explore Tokyo together for old times sake? We might bump into TK, Oyama, and Fujimaki before they show up in the stadium." Hinata offered

Everyone accepts, but before they move, Yuri turns to Otonashi.

"Hey Otonashi, I need to tell you something."

"What is it Yuri?"

"We might not be able to find all members of the SSS, but I would like to find as many as I can so we can be together again. Think you and Girls Dead Monster would want that?"

"Of course we would want that. We already have reunited this much of our friends. What would stop us from reuniting with others?"

"You are right Otonashi. I will be looking forward to see more of them again when the time comes. Come on, let's go with everyone so you guys can explore Tokyo before you have to go back and rehearse."

"Hey! Come on, you two are going to get left behind!" Hinata yelled as Yuri and Otonashi desperately turns back to catch up.

Once the group hits the stadium, Oyama, TK, and Fujimaki were there as expected, but are all the way on the other side of the stadium for the three to spot the group.

"The concert begins before the game right?" Otonashi asked for comfirmation.

"Yes. Both Girls Demo and Alive and Well will be performing to get the crowd hyped up for the game. Once the concert is over, we will all be present to watch Hinata try his best in his first ever game of professional baseball." Iwasawa replied.

"The crowd is jam-packed out there. Make sure to give them their money's worth."

"You don't have to worry about that Yuzuru. You know we will as long as our friends support us."

With Alive and Well done performing, it is now time for Girls Dead Monster to take the stage. Iwasawa gives a small kiss to Otonashi on the lips and left for the stage. The girls were met with loud cheers when they stepped out with Oyama, TK, and Fujimaki attempting to scream as loud as the crowd after recognizing them.

Iwasawa reaches the microphone and begins to speak. "Hello everyone, the song we are about to play reflects on our troubled experiences we all had to face in some points of our lives. Although we suffer sometimes, it also makes us human and leads to new paths and decision to decide the future once we overcome it. This song is dedicated to everyone affected by suffering and tragedy to let them know that they are not alone and we will all overcome it together. This song is called My Song."

As the group plays the song, part of the audience soon began waving their arms up high slowly to go with the song. Some were also seen tearing up, including Oyama. Iwasawa soon starts having tears coming out of her eyes remembering the journey that connected all of them to this day and the important things that were learned from these events.

Once the song is over, the performance was met with loud cheers from the audience as well as the players and cheerleaders who were watching. With their performance complete, the band heads backstage in order to find seats to watch Hinata's game.

"Rock on." TK said in English.

Aoki, who was actually hiding in the audience, gave the band a thumbs up, seeing them work as well as they have before.

Once the game started, the crowd seems to show favor towards Hinata's team as they take a head start. Otonashi and the rest of the SSS present continued to show support towards Hinata's team through loud cheers. Despite the effort, Hinata's team lost after a close game, but the coach, who was impressed with Hinata's performance in his first professional game, told him he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Hinata takes one more look at the audience as they continue to cheer for him and smiles as he heads back to the locker rooms.

As night hits, fireworks were launched to celebrate the both teams that performed in the stadium with Oyama, Fujimaki, and TK finally joining the rest of the SSS and their new friend, Aoki, as they celebrate the event.

Otonashi and Iwasawa are currently sitting side by side watching the fireworks as Iwasawa leans her head on his shoulder.

"I was hoping to save this moment for the fireworks festival, but I guess this is just as good isn't it Masami?"

"More than enough for me to handle Yuzuru."

"It is moments like this that I wish would last forever, but with the path we are taking now, I am sure it will last as long as we are here."

"Many of our friends and family are here reunited for this one event. No doubt that we will all meet again someday."

"I will be looking forward to when that time comes Masami."

Iwasawa and Otonashi looked at each other again and gave each other a longer kiss.

"Hey! Aren't you going to join us?" Hatsune called.

Otonashi and Iwasawa nodded at each other and joins the rest of their friends to watch the fireworks.

**After all this time, this fanfic finally comes to an end. I hope you all enjoyed reading the entire thing. As I mentioned in the last chapter, those who want to pick up this story to borrow ideas or have it rewritten have my permission to do so as long as partial credit goes to me. It has been a fun ride and it is now time for me to move on to new stories. Thank you to those who support this story.**


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